


Resonance

by Reikeiko



Series: Keiko in the world of Naruto [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Naruto
Genre: ANBU - Freeform, Akatsuki - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Arranged Marriage, Avatar, Bending, Death note reference, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gaara sex, Harry Potter - Freeform, Jinchuriki - Freeform, Jutsu, Kage Summit, Kakashi sex, Konohagakure - Freeform, Loss, Love, Marriage, Oral Sex, Original Character(s), Sex, Star Wars reference, Sunagakure - Freeform, Suspense, Tailed Beasts, Team 7 - Freeform, Team Guy/Gai, Team Kakashi - Freeform, Village Hidden in the Leaf, War, You might cry, Yôkai, bleach reference, inu-yokai, spells, village hidden in the sand, virgin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-17 13:23:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 28
Words: 31,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14189877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reikeiko/pseuds/Reikeiko
Summary: Keiko, is a Inu-Yokai that was taken in by the Village of the Hidden Leaf before they knew what she truly was. She traveled between worlds to find her place and find love only to find that there were others in this world who were alone among their kind.She falls in love with Kakashi in secret, meanwhile, the council of the Hidden Leaf has plans to use her to solidify their fradgile bond with the Village of the Hidden Sand....through marriage. Keiko has to take matters into her own hands to keep Kakashi. A staggering loss brings the villages together. Meanwhile, the Aatsuki work to undo everything they've worked for as Orochimaru outmaneuvers them in his quest for the greatest prize.As the threat of war escalates, Gaara rises to to challenge the Kage Summit to join forces.-----I realize I've changed some of the order of events and outcomes of the original story, but I tried to capture the characters of Naruto as best I could and try to develop on that.There's not really been any feedback thus far so I hope it's ok. This is my first fanfic. I'm having fun writing it! ^,^Includes some drawings by me





	1. The Plot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are chapters that have story line as well as the explicit material.  
> If you're just here for 'nudes,' chapter 4, chapter 16, chapter 17, and chapter 28 :o Or if you want to avoid them.  
> This is a love and war story not intended to be porn, so hopefully those of you who don't enjoy reading explicit material can power through!
> 
> This is my first time writing fanfic, so hope you can enjoy!

"So, Gaara was made Kazekage, huh?" Naruto asked, staring at the ground.  

Tsunade-sama closed her eyes and sighed resignedly. Kakashi, Guy, Naruto, and Sakura all looked at each other.  

"I was going to wait to discuss this until after your next mission but considering that the Village Hidden in the Sand is dealing with confrontation from the Akatsuki also, I don't have much choice. Now that Gaara has been made Kazekage, the elders of the Sand and the Leaf feel it's a good idea to solidify our alliance with a marriage. Therefore, I'm going to recommend Keiko go with you on this mission," said Tsunade-sama. 

Kakashi's eyes widened, "Keiko? Why?" 

Tsunade leaned forward onto the desk and opened one eye, "You're usually pretty quick on the uptake Kakashi. I'm surprised you'd be the one to ask. It has been decided that Keiko would be a good match for Gaara-sama considering her past." 

"Does she know about this yet?" asked Guy. 

"Not yet," Tsunade shrugged. 

"Oh, she's going to love that," growled Naruto. 

"Doesn't this kind of, I don't know, violate some freedom of choice?" Sakura asked. 

"Although Keiko has been adopted into the Village Hidden in the Leaf, she is also not originally one of us. She has been an ambassador to many worlds and is the best choice. I'm not really sure what to do yet if she refuses, but this is what the village councils asked for," said Tsunade. 

"Then why not get a volunteer?" Asked Kakashi. 

Tsunade placed her hand over her forehead, "I didn't bring this up in order to discuss your feelings on the subject, or mine for that matter. Keiko has a strong will but she also has a sense of duty. I hoped to hear the same from you,” she growled in exasperation. “You leave in the morning.” With a waive of her other hand, she barked, "Dismissed!" 

The rest disbursed as Kakashi stepped out alone into the hall, staring at the wooden wall in silence. Keiko was his neighbor in the leaf village. She had come to them about a decade ago after she had been found unconscious in the woods badly injured. She didn't seem all that unusual on this world, long white hair, what appeared to be painted stripes on her face, and a crescent moon on her forehead. Her long kimono and a small fluffy white boa that had been turned black in the mud were the only unusual features. They assumed she was a rich ambassador and took her to the hospital in the Hidden Leaf.

They didn't know at the time she was Inu-Yōkai. None of her kind really existed in this world save for the tailed beasts. She had paraded as a human for most of her time in the Hidden Leaf after seeing how Naruto was ostracized growing up. The truth didn't really come out until the Village Hidden in the Sound attacked with Orochimaru at Chūnin exams and some of her powers emerged. While it came as a shock to her comrades, they were grateful for the lives that she saved. She had already commanded the love and respect from her comrades as had Naruto, so the subject of her demon part was little discussed until now. 

She and Kakashi had grown close. They kept it quiet because of Kakashi's prior roll in the ANBU black ops and now his role as a sensei. They didn't want their relationship to be a distraction until his newest batch of students was well on their way. He could see her face in his mind's eye. It was a hardened face when she first arrived in the village; always stoic. He had watched it soften over time as she took to the villagers, especially the kids in the academy. Her laughter made Kakashi's heart leap. He didn't even realize he had started making his way home as he reminisced about their strolls as they stole away together at night to look at the stars. He would hold her under an oak tree by the water. They first made love under that oak tree, hurried though it was. They didn't want to be caught before they were ready to share their happiness with the rest of the village. When they weren’t stargazing, there were times she went on runs through the forest to keep her senses sharp. She would try to take in every sight, sound, and smell as she sped through the trees. Kakashi would be in her wake. There was something about her that was fierce and primal that had given way to something gentle when they were alone.

He never had a serious girl before her. He didn't want anyone treating her like gossip as if she were just another fling. He couldn’t let her reputation be tarnished like that. When they were ready, he wanted to let everyone know he claimed her as she claimed him. Now that she was going to be taken away from him, he wished he would have told the world. 

He didn't want to tell her about the council’s decision. He didn't know how he would tell her. Just the night before she told him she thought she might be pregnant. He hadn’t had the guts to bring it up to Tsunade in front of the others. What was he going to do? His eyes narrowed angrily. He'd be damned if he let someone else raise his kid.  

As he knocked on the door to her apartment, the door swung open. She wasn't there, but a note sat on the shoe rack in the entryway: 

 _Kakashi,_  

 _I am sure you have heard by now the plans that the Hidden_ _Leaf and Sand have for me. Our relationship with them is already very fragile_ _. I have gone to speak with Gaara-sama_ _regarding my decision so hopefully war can be prevented. I know that if I am unsuccessful, I will likely be put in prison for going rogue, but I have to do what I think is right._  

 _Love Always,_  

 _Keiko_  

Kakashi skimmed over the letter again. No. Once the elders found out about this, Keiko would be put in prison for sure. A surge of anger and sorrow coursed through him behind an expressionless mask. He could ask Tsunade-sama to make this mission official, but what if telling her made matters worse? Torn between chasing after her and between taking the letter to Tsunade, he stood there, unmoving.  

\--------------------------------

 

From my deviantArt page:

 

[](https://stormygate.deviantart.com/art/Hot-Springs-98726822) 


	2. Hidden in the Sand

Keiko wanted to reach the Village Hidden in the Sand quickly. She knew it was a risk if she were spotted, but flying was the fastest option. Luckily the cloud coverage was low and a fog was rolling in, so she decided to take the chance. This way at least she was unlikely to have to tango with many shinobi from rival villages. She stared fixedly into the silence. Why now of all times? She had just found happiness with Kakashi and they were going to be married. Kakashi thought since no one knew about their relationship, they should send out the invitations on the Western holiday April Fool's Day. He thought it would be funny since no one would know if they were serious or not. Idiot, she grimaced while half smiling.  

She had lived so many lifetimes but never really found love. Some of the Yōkai could live many hundreds of years. She was outcast by her clan in feudal Japan for her views on humans. Being kind to them was not a popular view. Most of the Yōkai thought they were gods by comparison to humans. Only her uncle Tōga felt the way she did, and her cousin Sesshomaru even though he pretended otherwise. She had seen him with that human Rin in tow everywhere he went. She had heard of her cousin Inuyasha traveling between times through a wishing well and she went in search of it, hoping to find somewhere else she could find purpose.

It was a fruitless search for the wishing well, but she came across a tear in time and space inside a cave in the forest. Ancient writings surrounded it and a stack of crumbling books sat on a shelf nearby. It appeared long abandoned. After deciphering some of it, she discovered that she could not just travel in time, but to other worlds. She decided that she would travel to other worlds and learn their magics and arts. She ultimately found her home in helping the people of these worlds learn to defend themselves. But she was ever still the outsider. She had a dozen homes, and she had none.

Something about the shinobi of this world made her stay. Perhaps part of it was that they took her in and made her one of them before they even knew anything about her. Other worlds she often had to prove herself first. There was constantly a desire to prove oneself among the shinobi, but they were all family from the beginning. The only exception seemed to be that Naruto kid, but in time they had accepted him as well. 

She sighed. Thinking on her family, she realized she hadn't even gotten a chance to explain to Kakashi about Inu-Hanyō. If they did have a child, it would be just like Inuyasha. She hoped Kakashi would love it just the same as he loved her, but it was a lot for a human to swallow.  

She landed silently on the Kazekage's balcony and listened. They seemed to be rather lax in security with the Atatsuki on the move, she sniffed. She reached for the sliding door and before she could open it, it flew open. Sand surrounded her and pulled her inside. _"_ _So_ _much for complaining about security,"_ she thought, grumbling as she got up off the floor.  

Garaa-sama's eyes narrowed. "It's considered rude in a strange village to not use the front door," he said in monotone.  

"My apologies Kazekage-sama," said Keiko expressionlessly, "I'm not from this world and still manage to ruin the customs spectacularly." She looked around the room. She could swear she saw almost a grin cross his face, but it was gone as soon as she had a chance to look again. 

"If you're wondering where the guards are, we are preparing. The Akatsuki are on the move, as is Orochimaru. We don't want to take any chances. I wasn't sure how much help the Leaf Village would be," he said. 

"That's kind of why I am here," she said. 

"Alone?" 

She paused, trying to maintain a passive expression even though inside her stomach was in knots. She never truly belonged anywhere before now, and this moment could ruin that for her. 

"I...I wanted to discuss with you the council's determination," she said. 

"I see. I had heard the discussions of course, but I didn't realize anything had been decided. A messenger was just sent to the Hidden Leaf two days ago," he said. 

"Tomorrow two squads are being sent to try and assist you in locating the Akatsuki and gather intelligence. I overheard that I am supposed to be with them. But I came now because I want it to be clear I am acting alone on this," she said. Sand started to shuffle slowly and menacingly at her feet. "I'm not here to attack you," she said quickly, sensing the danger, "I am here to tell you that I can't follow the wishes of the council...I'm pregnant you see." 

The sand stopped. "And I take it that your Hokage doesn't know about this." 

"No," she said, "but as a medical ninja, I'm sure she soon will. Kakashi and I were planning to announce our engagement after the Akatsuki recon mission." 

"I see. Well in that case, I guess I should escort you back to your village and smooth things over with the Hokage. Perhaps we can come to some other agreement before I talk to my council." 

"But what about the Hidden Sand? What if it is attacked while you are away?" 

"We won't be long. It sounds like we better get back before they realize you are gone. I assume since you got here so quickly that you have a means to do so?" He asked. 

They walked out to the balcony and Baki was sitting crouched on the ledge, obviously having sensed Keiko's arrival. "We are going to the Village Hidden in the Leaf. I will be back in two days," said Gaara. 

"But Kazekage-sama," interjected Baki. 

"It is regarding the council's decree. It's important. Two days. Keep preparing the village," Gaara said. 

"Yes, Kazekage-sama." 

Keiko's boa grew and wrapped unto a cushion beneath Gaara as they took to the sky. 

"Well this is an interesting jutsu." 

"It's not," Keiko mumbled. 

Gaara looked at her appraisingly. "Why did they choose you to join our villages?" he asked. 

Keiko sighed, "I suppose it's because they think that we are the same." 

"How so?" he breathed, his tone not changing but his interest peaked. 

"Well, you are Jinchuriki," she said, "And I am Yōkai." 

His eyes widened, a million questions rushing through his mind. 

"I don't think it was meant in cruelty or to point out an obvious difference between you and others," she continued, "I think they wanted to give you someone that could really understand you so you wouldn't feel alone. I think that they got the idea from Naruto's respect for you." 

 _So,_ _he feels the same about me as well. Naruto._ "So, you are not Jinchuriki? What do you mean you ARE a Yōkai? You don't have one sealed inside of you?" he asked. 

Keiko's youthful face sharpened and began to elongate. Her eyes turned red as her fangs grew. Gaara nearly fell off; the cork of his gourd wiggling free preparing to defend. She allowed her face to shrink back to normal. "My world... it is owned by the Yōkai mostly; at least in the era I am from. There are not only 9 as you have on this world, though the ones you have on this world are very powerful. On my world, there are lesser Yōkai as well. Many demons would seek to destroy humans, but a few of us have evolved. That doesn't mean that humans have," she said sourly, "but there are good and bad apples in every race I suppose." 

"In another time, we probably could have been good together. But I really respect you and would love to be your friend," she continued.  

For the first time since her arrival, she really smiled. Gaara stared at her in wonder, taking in the features that a moment ago looked like a monster. He realized how beautiful she really was. "I would like that." 


	3. The Reckoning

"SHE DID WHAT!?!" screamed Tsunade. A tree splintered as it snapped in half, Tsunade heaving as she kept her fist clenched. Kakashi backed away slowly, not sure if he should prepare to defend himself.  Her eyes were rolling.

"She uh, went to try and work things out with the Kazekage," he said. 

"And WHAT precisely made her decide to do that? How did she even find out about this?" She glowered accusingly at Kakashi. 

"Like I told you, she was already gone when I got this letter," he replied. 

"And what is this about _Love Always, Keiko_ ," sneered Tsunade. 

Kakashi was saved from answering as Keiko and Gaara descended. Tsunade looked fit to boil until she caught sight of Gaara in her midst. She deflated as she looked to him. "Kazekage-sama, we were not expecting you." 

"Keiko came to see me regarding a determination that was made by the council without our consent," he said flatly. 

"With…your...?" Tsunade said, surprised. 

"That is correct. I knew of the council's discussion on the matter of course, but no one had informed me that any candidates were chosen, and I was not made part of that process," he glared dangerously. 

Keiko gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "My apologies Hokage-sama. I went to see Gaara-sama on my own because if there was to be any upset regarding my decision, I wanted it to be clear that it was only my doing and the Leaf was not involved. I told Gaara-sama that I could not fulfill the wishes of the council, because I am pregnant and already taken." 

Tsunade's jaw about hit the floor. "Pregnant? I feel sure I would have known," she finished, half to herself. The conflicting news played across her face as she thought. "Are you quite sure? Medical ninjitsu is my specialty. I haven't sensed anything." 

"It might be...different in my case," Keiko said hesitantly. She did not want to have the discussion about half demons in front of Kakashi before she had even had a chance to talk to him about it. 

"I see," said Tsunade, "Well you realize you have left me in quite a predicament. BOTH counsels are going to be vying to have you thrown in prison for treason in fear of disrupting this delicate peace. On top of that, now we are going to have to find something to appease them." 

"I think I can deal with the Sand council," said Gaara, "they did exclude me from the final decision after all. I am not opposed to the idea for peace, but I would like to meet and get to know any potential girls before I agree. The idea of arranged marriage is so archaic." 

"I think we should summon the council and have them briefed, if you would be willing to relay your feelings to them directly Kazekage-sama. That should maybe take some of the pressure off Keiko. I can't let my feelings on this matter overrule what's best for the village, but personally part of me is glad," said Tsunade, softening.

They all looked at each other in surprise as she continued, "I know I had to push this, but I was not particularly fond of this decision and they all just assumed she was not seeing anyone. It’s the prejudice against Jinchuriki, people often see them as not well loved, even if they didn’t mean anything by it. That prejudice has gone on long enough. I think we have seen enough from Uzumaki and you two that the people should be able to figure out that demons aren't made because of a birthright. Look at Orochimaru," said Tsunade. 

"I will send out summons for the council. Kazekage-sama, would you join us?" asked Tsunade. 

"Of course." 

"And Keiko," said Tsunade, "I think you better go spend some time with Kakashi. I'd like you to escort the Kazekage back to the Sand Village tonight after the council meeting. Normally I wouldn't ask someone in your condition, but I know that you can keep both of you safer with your abilities than anyone else I could send." 

Keiko and Kakashi looked at her in surprise. 

"Kakshi may have been slow on the uptake, but now that I know the rest, it makes sense. Kakashi squad and Guy squad move out as planned tomorrow for Akatsuki recon." 


	4. Hidden Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Explicit material  
> \-------------------------

Kakashi pushed open the door to his apartment and he followed Keiko inside. 

"I am so sorry, about all of this," she said. 

"What do you have to be sorry for?" asked Kakashi. "I just found out I'm not losing you after all. I'm happy." 

"I never got a chance to tell you the rest," she said with a pained expression on her face, "I was hoping the happy news would sink in before I had to tell you the bad news." 

Kakashi placed a hand on her cheek, "You know you can tell me anything. I've never wanted to force you to be anything you're not. I love all of you." 

"You know, I think Tsunade-sama is wrong about your powers of deduction," Keiko laughed ironically.  

"Well usually they're pretty good, but I have to admit, this business with the council kind of threw me off," he said, "but don't change the subject, I still want to hear what you have to say about the bad news." 

"If we do have a child, it will be Inu-Hanyō," said Keiko quietly. "You are human and I am not, so it will be half and half." 

"What will that mean exactly?" asked Kakashi. 

"The child will likely look mostly human but with maybe some dog-like features. I am able to transform and hide more because of my powers. Inu-Hanyō are more limited. There's a possibility that our child will face some of the same struggles as Naruto did," Keiko said, tears coming up in earnest, "I am so sorry I never told you. I never thought I would find love, let alone have a family." 

"I wish you would have told me," he said, "but not because I would have wanted it another way. I just wish you didn't feel you had to be afraid of me."  

He tilted her chin as he kissed her gently. "I summon the Ninken. It seems fitting my child should be half-hound."  

"That's not funny," Keiko growled, slapping him lightly on the arm.  

He pulled down his mask and grinned before he kissed her again in earnest. She barely noticed that they had made it to the side of the bed. He pulled her kimono down revealing her bare shoulder, running his fingertips over her skin as he did. She shivered as goosebumps appeared on her arms as he continued to push the large amounts of fabric away.  

Keiko did the same with his vest as he moved his lips to her neck. Her whole body tingled with anticipation at his touch. One breast was now exposed as he cupped it in his hand. Keiko buried her face in his hair, wrapping her free hand in it and taking in his scent.  

He pulled away suddenly and lifted off his shirt. Keiko took the sight of him in both hungrily and lovingly. She looked back into his eyes and kissed him again. The rest of her kimono fell away and she pressed her bare chest to his.

He wrapped his arms around her protectively, shielding her from part of the chill. After a moment, he lowered her onto her back onto the bed with her legs dangling off the side. He began to kiss his way slowly down her body as her nipples hardened. When he finally reached the warmth of her sex she moaned. He placed a reassuring hand on her thigh, encouraging her exclamation of pleasure. 

 She was already so wet.  

Kakashi circled her clit with his tongue before plunging it inside her. Her hips came up off the bed and he moved his hand from her thigh to her pubic bone to steady her. He continued to stroke and taste inside of her before moving back up to her clit. She was panting now, aching to be touched everywhere at once. He slid two fingers inside of her from his other hand and caressed the ridge inside her as he licked and circled her faster.

Her moans became higher and higher pitched. She struggled to buck her hips against his attention, but he held her down.

Part of him longed to feel her lips around him, but he wanted to cum with her, inside her. He moved his lips back up her body slowly as he undid his pants, still holding two fingers inside her. He kissed her and she could taste herself on his lips. She shivered as he pinched a pink nipple and rolled it between his fingers.

The other two fingers were replaced by his hard member sliding inside of her. Her walls stretched around him and he moaned. "Nn, Kakshi," she breathed in his ear. He started to slowly pump inside of her as he kissed her and fondled her breasts. Her hands explored his back and his abs. As she ran her fingers down his spine, he let out a moan against her lips. Her senses were overwhelmed. She was overtaken by his heavenly manly scent as his abs began to glisten from the effort, the feeling of him inside her, his hands on her breasts. Every nerve fiber felt alive and on fire.

He moved his body closer to hers and buried his face in her neck as he picked up speed. She wrapped her fingers again in his hair and ran her nails down his back with the other hand. The muscles inside her pussy contracted. He could have came right then, but he wanted to wait for her. He hit the ridge inside of her with the tip of his cock and she gasped, "right there."

Faster he pounded, her moans getting weaker as she came close to orgasm. He always thought that was funny about her. Almost like she was concentrating on being one with him. Most women grew louder.

"Nn, Kakashi, I'm going to cum," she said softly.

He looked into her eyes, "Keiko," he pleaded, before they both saw stars.  

She held him as they both lay panting on the bed. When he recovered, he turned the right way on the bed and pulled her to him. 

"I don't want to go," she said quietly. 

"I don't want you to either," he said. "I love you Keiko." 

"And I, you." 

 


	5. The Night Before

The council concluded all too soon. They were disgruntled that they were forcibly superseded by the chain of events. But the fact that Keiko put her own life and the life of her child at risk in order to protect the village from the wrath of the Sand resonated with them and they decided not to punish her. Tsunade suspected that having the Kazekage himself tell them his wishes and that he would be displeased if they punished her for circumstances of no fault of her own had something to do with it

Not all of the council members agreed. "It's not as if the sand would pose any real threat to us," grumbled a disgruntled elder after Gaara had left them.

"If you remember elder, underestimating other villages led to my becoming Hokage," snipped Tsunade. 

"I suppose you're right," he conceded. 

Tsunade descended to the hospital ward out of habit and found Sakura finishing up on a patient as she wiped her forehead. 

"Ah, Tsunade-sama," exclaimed Sakura. "You are up late." 

"So are you. Kakashi squad moves out in the morning. You should be getting your rest. I can clean up," smiled Tsunade. 

"Thank you so much," she bowed before depositing her gloves in the biohazard bin and heading to the washroom. 

Team Guy and Naruto were already asleep. Kakashi and Keiko were the only others remaining awake.  

"So, you're not going to take that Make-out series with you while I'm away, are you?" asked Keiko. 

"Well there haven't been any new ones since the last one Naruto brought me," he replied with a grin. 

Keiko rolled her eyes.

"I never thought I would say this because I haven't experienced it with any other woman, but I haven't really been anticipating the next book as usual to be honest. I've been so wrapped up in teaching, and in you..."

"If you say something smooth like 'you're my next chapter' I'm going to throw up before I kiss you," Keiko said. 

"That's completely disgusting, way to ruin the moment," he said.  

"You know, just something to remember me by," she snorted. 

"I can't believe that your kind are revered on your world. The maturity level of a 10 year old," scoffed Kakashi jokingly. 

"Oh please, like yours isn't. I guess I'm just too much like my cousin in some ways." 

"Do you think one day when things are settled, if the Hokage-sama allows of course, we could visit your world? The baby could meet your clan," Kakashi said. 

Keiko hesitated, "We could visit my world, but the only family I could safely see is Inuyasha. Many of the others would not take kindly to a Inu-Hanyō, or of me. I was outcast for wanting to protect humans, and Inu-Hanyō are shunned by Yokai and humans alike." 

"I see," he said sadly. _Like Naruto. Like_ _Gaara_ _._  

Keiko dressed in the dark, save for the moonlight shining through the window. Kakashi watched her finish before pulling her to him. 

"Please come back to me," Keiko whispered. 

"I am that one that should be saying that. To both of you," he said placing a hand on her belly. 

Keiko closed the door behind her and met Gaara in the street. Kakashi watched through the window as she approached him. Gaara looked up into Kakashi's eyes and tried to speak without words the typical manly 'I'll protect her' nod. 

A fluffy cloud surrounded Gaara once again before they ascended into the night sky. 


	6. And they're off!

Rock Lee and Guy were doing pushups on the bridge as Sakura, Naruto, Neji, and Tenten leaned against the railing. 

"Guy-sensei," exclaimed Lee, "I will do 200 more pushups before this blade of grass can hit the ground!" He tossed a blade of grass in the air before dropping to all fours. "One, two, three, four..." 

"That's it Lee! The springtime of youth resonates in each pushup," said Guy proudly. 

Naruto rubbed his eyes lazily. "They never do stop, do they," he said. 

"No," said Neji as he stared out over the river. 

"It's about time!" shouted Naruto a Kakashi strolled up. "You were supposed to be here an hour ago!"  

"Sorry, sorry," Kakashi waved, "I was up late making sure, er, making sure that the Kazekage left the village safely." 

Naruto's face went flat, "Leaving the village safely? Isn't it once he's OUTSIDE the village that you have to worry? Besides, isn't Keiko-nee-san with him?" 

Kakshi's face went red. 

Lee jumped up and threw out a palm, "You never can be too careful. The enemy can be lurking behind every corner." Guy nodded enthusiastically in the background. 

Sakura swayed. "Looks like I wasn't the only one up late," said Kakashi. 

Naruto's face softened as he took a good look at Sakura's pale face. "Hey, are you ok Sakura?" 

"I'll be fine," she said, "just a little tired. At any rate, hadn't we better get going?" 

"Yea, you're right. Summoning Jutsu!" Exclaimed Kakashi. The Ninken appeared and Pakkun was scratching behind his ear. 

"Hey Pakkun!" Said Naruto. 

"Hey there, boy you've gotten big since I saw you last." 

Naruto grinned cheesily. 

"OK so here's the plan. I managed to get this scrap from the last time we fought Uchiha Itachi. We need to track him down so we can find out where the Akatsuki base is, and what their next move is, but we need to keep a safe distance so they don't know we're onto them. We need to avoid engaging so we can report back without them moving to a new location," said Kakashi. 

"Right," they all replied. With that, they were off following the Ninken pack into the woods. 


	7. The Loss

Unfortunately, fate seemed to be against all the teams that day as the Akatsuki were already making their next move.  

Keiko dropped Gaara back to his office and she went to sleep on the couch since she had been up through the night. He watched her sleeping form for a moment before breaking open the seal of a scroll on his desk. His eyes narrowed as they flew over the page. So movement of the Akatsuki had been noted nearby. He leaned back in the chair and put his fingertips together. Something was coming. Soon.   

He watched Keiko for another minute and listened to the grains of sand flow through the kinetic timepiece on his desk. He traced the features of her face in his mind. She was very beautiful. He wondered for half a moment if he would have been happy in a life with her before abandoning the thought and looking back down at the scroll on his desk. He heard an explosion in the distance as the contents of his desk rattled slightly.

He stood and Keiko's eyes flew open. They both rushed to the sliding door of the balcony, throwing it open.  

In the distance, they saw what appeared to be a large bird. Gaara's advisor's and guard appeared on his balcony. "This is the second one sighted. The ANBU just went after another invader in the canyon," said Baki.   

Kankurō bared his teeth, "So they managed to draw protection away from the village."  

"That is how it would appear," said Baki.  

"Ready the defenses," said Gaara as sand surrounded him, lifting him into the air.   

"That's amazing," said Keiko, "I've never seen his jutsu on this scale."  

"The sand always protects him without him having to do anything, but it takes a lot of Chakra to lift himself with it, so he doesn't do it often," said Kankurō.  

Keiko stood by Kankurō as they watched their attacker come closer into view. Gaara rose to meet him.   

"You must be the sand demon," said the stranger.  

Gaara glared wordlessly, arms crossed.  

"Don't you want to know who I am?"  

"Not really," said Gaara dispassionately, "but I do want to know what you're doing here and advise you to leave."  

"Heh," scoffed the stranger. "My name's Deidara, and you are coming with me," he grinned.  

The village watched as the battle unfolded, until their view was shielded by Gaara's protective sand.  

Keiko shifted nervously. She wanted to help, but she didn't want to undermine his authority in front of the entire village. This was his battle.   

An ANBU operative appeared next to them. "There's trouble, in the canyon," he said, "we were being overwhelmed." 

"I will go," chimed Keiko. "If you please, back up your kazekage, I will do what I can."  

Keiko looked when she reached the canyon and noticed the ANBU operative was gone. Strange. Perhaps he went back to protect the Kazekage. The canyon was a bloodbath. The shinobi were all already dead. She stood for a moment as her stomach lurched. She thought she was going to vomit. She felt a sharp pain but it passed. She had been in many battles, seen lots of death. She was not particularly bothered by it. But the realization that only one Akatsuki member did this made her worry for her friends. She never used to worry about loss beyond letting down a comrade in a sense of duty. She wasn't used to feeling particularly attached to any human over another. This was why her kind was against human attachment. They thought of it as weakness. 

She was not weak, she told herself, casting off feelings of unease. Keiko turned away from the scent of blood and chased after the Akatsuki member leaving the canyon.  

"A little short for an Akatsuki," she spat.  _Seriously Keiko, now isn't the time for that._  

"I am Sasori, of the red sand. Not that you will live long to remember it. I hate to keep people waiting," he said.  

Keiko took an earth stance and the ground rose around Sasori, trapping him between stony fingers. His tail swung and broke the rocks apart lazily. Keiko paused. She didn't know if she could take him down without killing him. She sensed the spirit pressure from his chakra and it was enormous. He needed to be taken alive so they could locate the Akatsuki.   

"I don't like to BE kept waiting either," said Sasori, "I would rather you die quickly."  

His tail swung again and missed as she shadow stepped away. She could see poison dripping from the end.   

Keiko wasn't versed in many jutsu. Kakashi was going to work on it with her but they hadn't really found the time since he started teaching graduates from the academy. Most of her powers came from magic from other worlds, and without a wand or catalyst, a lot of it was elemental or healing. There was only rock as far as the eye could see. She could use fire, but it may kill him. Hand to hand combat wouldn't help her here. She may have to kill him. 

She summoned fire into the palm of her hand as a pain in her abdomen dropped her to her knees. _What? Blood..._   

She was bleeding, but from where?   

Sasori laughed, bemused, "They let a pregnant woman go alone against the Akatsuki. Obviously the stress on your body from the smell of death and destruction was too much. Perhaps I won't kill you. You're about to pass out anyway it seems," he continued to laugh menacingly, "there's no point exerting myself on such a weak opponent." 

The patch of red continued to spread across her kimono. She looked down at her hand covered in the same as it went in and out if focus. She wasn't even that far along. How could there be this much? Had Sasori poisoned her? Was she dying? 

 _No..._ _Gaara_ _....Kakashi._  Sand blew over the rock surface beneath her and she reached out to it as if begging it to help. A wave of nausea coursed through her again. Darkness took her.   

The sand shinobi found her when they found Kankurō. When she woke in the hospital wing of the Hidden Sand, Kankurō was sitting up, talking to Naruto. Keiko's heart lept. Naruto meant...  

"Kakashi?" Keiko croaked.  

They all went silent.   

"Where's Kakashi?" Keiko repeated. "Gaara?"  

They all looked down. Sakura's and Temari's eyes welled with tears.   

"Gaara was taken by the Akatsuki," said Kankurō, "the Ninken are out searching for them still, but..."  

Naruto balled his hands into fists. "Kakashi....Kakashi-sensei. He scarified himself so we could get away from Itachi."  

Keiko's face paled in shock, "no," she whispered.  

"I'm, I'm going to kill him," said Naruto, shaking. "I'm going to kill Itachi, and I'm going to take all the Akatsuki with me when we rescue Gaara."  

 _Gaara_ _._ "Gaara is still alive?" Keiko asked weakly.  

Neji walked into the room. "We believe they need Gaara for the same reason they are searching for Naruto. We aren't completely sure of what they intend to do with it, but we know they are after the power of the tailed beasts. But what happened to you, Keiko?" Neji looked at Sakura uncertainly. 

"I've let everyone down," she said evenly, "I've let you all down."  

"No you didn't," said Sakura. "You came back to us alive so we can save Gaara"  

"The baby," Keiko said, voice beginning to waiver.  

"I'm so sorry. So early in the term, the stress your body was going under from everything going on...it's not your fault," Sakura said soothingly.  

"I didn't even do anything. I didn't even take a blow. I know I didn't," she said defiant, "How?" Keiko half shouted.  

"It just, happened. I am so sorry Keiko," Sakura said, hugging her. Keiko broke into tears. "A dozen worlds," she choked, "I have led battles on a dozen worlds...and when it came time to protect my family, I was weak."  

"No Keiko-nee-san," said Naruto, "don't say that."  

"I won't fail again. We will rescue Gaara."  

Chiyo of the Sand stood in the corner solemnly.  

 

 


	8. Wands and Wonders

"We cannot afford to send Shinobi after Gaara. Perhaps this is meant to be. Even if Gaara himself would never wish to harm our village, can he really control the beast?" Ebizō said.  

"The honored grandfather has a valid point," Keiko heard another voice chime in before Kankurō started shouting. 

Keiko walked away from the door and slowly down the corridor, thinking. So. The Sand was just going to defend its borders and abandon its Kazekage. She needed to gather her resources so she could go at these Akatsuke full force, with the help of the Hidden Leaf or without. The Sand was obviously out. 

She still hadn't totally recovered from the blood loss. Had she been a human, she might not have pulled through. She knew there were further complications Sakura chose not to tell her. That's what she told herself anyway, she would not admit to being weak.  

She would have to hurry to get to the Leaf and back before anyone noticed she was gone. After she reached the edge of the Village Hidden in the Sand, her body began to elongate as she ran. Her eyes glowed red as her face stretched. Her muscles grew as the rest of her body. In seconds she was pounding through the forest between the Sand and Leaf villages on all fours, paws digging into the earth. With a swish of her tail, she bounded into the sky and let out a roaring howl. 

She transformed back on the outskirts of the Hidden Leaf. She leaned against a memorial stone, panting. Damn, the effort from her haste was taking a toll. As she stood up, she looked at it wordlessly. The names of the fallen shinobi of the Leaf were scrawled across the surface. Hatake Kakashi would be added to it within the coming days. Keiko choked back the wave of emotion in her throat as she forced it down. _Itachi_ _._ His name, would they put it on this stone after she was through with him?  

She ran her fingers over the textured carving on the black marbled surface. She didn't have time for this. There would be time to mourn when Gaara was safely back in the sand and the Akatsuki destroyed, she seethed. 

In the back of her mind, she recalled Kakashi warning Uchiha Sasuke about revenge. She saw it rip Sasuke apart as he threw away his new family in his quest to seek revenge for family long gone.  

" _This is about more than that,"_ she vowed silently. " _The_ _Jinchuriki_ _will never be safe until the Akatsuki are destroyed. If they succeed in their mission, the whole world will be at their mercy, or at the mercy of the tailed beasts if they will not obey their new master."_  

Keiko expected the streets to be busy, but all was eerily quiet. Then she remembered everyone must be gathering at the mount to watch fireworks for Hokage day. Tsunade-sama had tried to do away with that particular event but Shizune insisted it was good for morale and it honored those that came before her. 

Keiko closed the door to her apartment after gathering preparations. She looked down at the wand and wiped it on her fresh kimono. Sparks flew out of the end and she muttered. She hadn't used it since visiting a world where witches and wizards lived in secret. She found that world fascinating. Most of the worlds she had been to, lived with magic and power in the open. She kind of respected the wizarding kind for wanting to blend in with their fellow humans. As she visited these worlds, she never even knew if she would be able to learn their ways or not. She had natural magical and elemental attunement, so she was able to get by in some sense. Much of it was destructive. The wizards were the first that really focused on defenses. 

At the edge of the village, she stopped by the water next to an oak tree; their oak tree. She walked past it to the water's edge. She stood feet apart, one behind the other, as she faced her palms to the water. A stream lifted from the surface and bent with her as she guided it to a container on her hip. Satisfied that she was as prepared as she could be, she transformed to her true form again and made for the Sand. 


	9. Into the Inferno

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even though Keiko has some background in acquiring magic from different worlds, I didn't want to push too much of it in there because this is truly a Naruto fanfic. So I didn't name techniques and spells too much specifically.

When Keiko reached the sand, team Guy and the remaining members of team Kakashi were preparing to move out with Chiyo. Temari stood nearby with a squad of Sand shinobi. She looked like she was in a foul mood. 

"They are sending us to the borders," she said disgruntled, "my brother is out there alone, our Kazekage, and we are leaving him to die." 

"We don't let that happen," piped Naruto. He punched a fist forward into the air, "I am going to save Gaara," he looked at Keiko, "we all will. Believe it!" 

"Keiko, are you really sure you've recovered enough for this mission?" asked Neji. 

"I think I am more aptly prepared this time," said Keiko, avoiding the question. 

"Hm, in that case I'm sure Guy-sensei will agree, we could use your help on Kakashi's team," Neji replied. 

"I got this Neji! You guys can take Keiko with you to watch your back," Naruto said confidantly. 

"Actually," said Keiko quietly, "I think that it's fitting I go with team Kakashi." 

Naruto lost some of his spunk as he nodded, "mhm. I guess you're right." 

"The Ninken were able to sniff out the Akatsuki hideout," said Neji. "They think they remained undetected, but we better be on our guard just in case. These are no ordinary enemies. " 

"Right. Team Kakashi should take the left flank, we will take the right. Take Chiyo-oba-san with you," said Guy. 

Team Kakashi reached the cave first. Guy's team was nowhere in sight.  

"Kakashi-sensei was supposed to give us communication devices for this mission, but we never got around to it," said Sakura. 

Great. They were cut off from the other team and had no way of truly contacting them. How weird would the shinobi find a Patronus? Only, she didn't know where they actually were. Resigning to this fact, they made for the entrance to the cave.

\-------

It wasn't but mere moments after recovering from the shock of seeing Gaara dead on the ground that Keiko had to take off after Naruto has he chased Deidara down the river. She hoped that Sakura and Chiyo-oba-san would be ok against Sasori.  

"Naruto you idiot, wait!" Keiko barked as clay bombs dropped around her. Deidara clearly was trying to capture Naruto without her interference. Naruto had grown and he was powerful, but this Akatsuki member single handedly took down the Kazekage. 

Damn. They had to be careful what offensive attacks they used or they would risk destroying Gaara along with the bird keeping Deidara aloft. They chased him down the river as bombs continued to fall, Keiko tried to think while dodging. She doubted she would ever get Naruto to stop and regroup, and even if she did, they ran the risk of losing sight of Gaara. At the same time, they were moving further and further from their support. What if they were being lead to the rest of the Akatsuki? She doubted they could take them on alone even with her magic.

Keiko waved and snapped the wand over her head, a jet of red light barreling towards toward him. 

"Hmph, what the?" Deidara said before he was falling from the bird. With her other hand, Keiko raised water from the river, catching them both and placing them on the shore of the cliff. She kept Deidara trapped as the water began to freeze around him.  

"Rasengan!" Shouted Naruto as he collided with Deidra's right arm. The ice shattered and Deidra gasped before disappearing. He landed in a tree a few yards from them. 

"Hmph, looks like I underestimated you," he said. _I wasn't counting on anyone getting in the way since_ _Itachi_ _put down that copy ninja._  

Naruto summoned shadow clones to work on rescuing Gaara from the bird. 

"I guess now that I've lost both arms, I can't use any techniques. I guess we will have to continue this another time," said Deidara, and with that he was gone. 

"No. Gaara," she heard Naruto say. Keiko turned to look once she was sure they were alone. "Gaara!!!" Naruto screamed. 

"Keiko...Keiko-onee-san," sobbed Naruto. "Something, anything," he pleaded. _Save him._  

"I'm so sorry Naruto. Nothing I know of from my travels can truly bring anyone back to life. He'd be cursed, not really alive, and it would come at a great price," she said. 

"Anything, I'll pay it," he growled. 

"I'm sorry Naruto. I won't taint his soul or yours that way." 

"It already is," he yelled. 

"You may have beasts sealed inside you, but your soul is yours and wholely your own," said Keiko laying a hand on his shoulder. "We need to locate the rest of the teams and get Gaara back to the Sand Village." 

She looked at Gaara as Naruto turned away. _Gaara_ _. I am so sorry. Maybe this is my penance for choosing Kakashi. Now I've lost you both._  

They reached an open field near the village and laid Gaara down as they saw shinobi of the Hidden Leaf coming out of the trees. 

"You're not the failure Keiko-onee-san. I am. I couldn't save Sasuke, and I couldn't save Gaara," sobbed Naruto. Chiyo looked at the ground.  

"And it's all your fault!" He yelled, "you damned Sand shinobi for putting that THING inside him. Do you know what he dealt with? And all he wanted to do was protect you and you shunned him!" 

Chiyo moved to Gaara's side as they all watched. Keiko held her hand as she kneeled down. _This feeling._ She saw in the old woman's eyes pain and determination, but moreover a sense of purpose. She didn't know what kind of power the woman had, but she recognized the look of someone preparing to make a sacrifice. 

Chiyo placed her hands on Gaara's chest. The grass beneath them began to ripple as her Chakra glowed. 

 _"This pressure,"_ thought Keiko. 

"No!" said Sakura, reaching out her hand tentatively. Naruto looked at her in surprise. The rest stood stony faced in silence. Chiyo-oba-san smiled at them before collapsing on the ground next to Gaara.  

"Gaara!" yelled Tamari and Kankurō together, racing across the field with Sand shinobi trailing behind them. 

Keiko was already holding Gaara in her arms when they reached him. She felt something inside her stir as his eyes opened.  

"An angel?" he asked uncertainly, reaching for her face. 

"A demon," she whispered in his ear. He grinned slightly. 

"Thank you Naruto," Kankurō said. 

"Don't thank me, thank oba-san. She did an amazing medical ninjitsu. When she comes around, we can all go back to the village and celebrate the Kazekage's return" 

"Not medical," said Gaara, struggling to sit up. 

"She gave her life...for his," whispered Kankurō. 

Sakura held Chiyo's form in her arms as tears flowed freely. 

"Naruto," said Temari, "you have the power to change people. Chiyo-oba-san aid she didn't care about the village until you came along. She saw something in you that made her put her hope in Gaara." 

Gaara leaned away from Keiko as he tried to stand. He faltered and Naruto grasped his arm.

"Everyone, please pray for Chiyo-oba-sama," said Gaara.

\----

Back at the Village Hidden in the Sand, they celebrated the Kazekage's return. Some of the elders stepped forward to murmur their apologies to Gaara and to thank the Leaf shinobi.

Lee was running up and down the stairs with Guy while Neji and Tenten watched.

As the feast was being prepared and people milled through the streets playing music and laughing, Gaara pulled Keiko aside. He wasn't really sure what to say.

"I'm sorry, about Kakashi. If you wanted...you're welcome to come raise the baby here," he said, rubbing the back of his head. 

A pained look shot across Keiko's face. 

"I understand if you don't want to leave your home in the Leaf, I just thought, maybe you didn't want to be alone either." 

"It's not that," Keiko grimaced. "The baby...is gone. While you were fighting Deidara. I don't really know what happened. Sakura...she said sometimes it just happens." 

Gaara didn't know how to respond. "All the same," he said flatly, "you always have a home here." 

Keiko nodded, lost for words. Suddenly he pulled her into a hug. "Thank you," he whispered. He tried to put unsaid words into that hug. He wanted to ask her to stay, but thought better of it. She just lost so much, of course she'd want to go home.

They went out with the others as Naruto was running from table to table inspecting the different ramen. 

"You may want to reign him in before he starts knocking people over," said Tenten. Sakura giggled, and they all laughed. 

 

 

 


	10. Goodbye, Kakashi

It rained the day they gathered around the marble stone to say goodbye to Kakashi. Fitting really, thought Keiko. Kakashi was always fond of Cliché's. She reached her hand out to the stone once again where the names of the fallen were etched. This time her fingers ran over the words 'Hatake Kakashi.'  

Water pooled into the indents. No one could tell the difference between the rainfall and her tears as it ran down the side of the stone as each crevice overflowed. Naruto and Sakura came up behind her. Sakura pulled her into a hug and Naruto put his hand on her shoulder. They had grown so much in only a few weeks since they set out on the mission, Keiko thought.  

"Onee-san," said Naruto, "I really think Kakashi-sensei would want you to have this." He handed her Kakashi's headband.  

She gripped it in her palm for a moment before whispering, "Thank you, Naruto." 

They had been putting off the memorial due to the village being on high alert now that they knew for sure the Akatsuki was already three Jinchuriki closer to their goal. Keiko hadn't been able to bring herself to go back to her apartment in that time. She stayed in the woods as she did back on her world. She decided that she should really move back into a place in the village if she was going to continue living among them. But not there. 

She found herself standing in front of it without really knowing where she was going. She looked at her door and instead pushed open Kakashi's. She pulled a crate towards her and started boxing his things. Buried in a drawer she found the Makeout series. She sniffed. With it she found a journal. That was curious. She never knew Kakashi to be one to enjoy doing any kind of paperwork let alone writing. Usually he used that as a cover to sneak out with her. 

The first entry she flipped open to was titled "A beautiful stranger." Hmm, perhaps he was writing his own version of the Makeout series? 

 _A beautiful stranger_  

 _Today we found the most beautiful creature in the woods. She has hair like starlight. She can't_ _possibly_ _be human. Maybe she's an angel? I guess we'll find out once they're done patching her up._  

 _The_ _Hokage-sama_ _granted my release from the_ _ANBU_ _. After the next set of students goes through the academy, I'll be getting my first round of_ _genin_ _._  

Ok, well not that weird for a dude, Keiko supposed. Kakashi was fond of his cliché's but usually in the form of a joke. He could be serious and tell her how much he loved her, but he never really gushed. She flipped forward through the book and started to read the next one: 

 _My starlight_  

 _I have found the woman I'm going to marry. She's as fierce as a wolf and damned sexy. But she's also softened since she first came here. She's more kind, and gentle sometimes. Her laugh makes me feel things I've never felt. She's so beautiful, like starlight. She let me have her for the first time tonight by our oak tree. I wish it didn't have to happen the way it did. I wish this didn't have to be a secret. But I'm so glad it did._  

Keiko closed the book. His words resonated in her head. _My starlight._ She looked at it hesitantly. She tapped it with her wand to conceal the words magically and then wrapped his headgear around it before storing it away inside her waistband. There wasn't much else in the room to pack. She left the crate on the bed and closed the door behind her. She looked up as she stepped into the street. She wanted her eyes to reach the stars but there were none to be seen as rain soaked her face. 

 _Training,_ she thought. That's how she could best honor Kakashi. 


	11. Plotting...again?

Weeks turned into a few months that had passed since Kakashi’s death. Keiko flitted from squad to squad during their training, learning what she could. She was never assigned anywhere officially since she hadn't passed any shinobi ranks. Tsunade-sama seemed pleased to keep her as she was. 

"Keiko, I know you want to learn and that's great, but I don't see the point at your age and sending you through the academy," waived Tsunade. "You have plenty of skills already and I think that you're already making fine progress watching the basics. You can already make a clone and do a substitution jutsu." 

"I know, but I feel I would progress better if I started from the beginning," Keiko replied. 

"It's really kind of a moot point anyway," said Tsunade. "Would you like to have saké with me?" 

"Wh..what?" Keiko stammered, caught completely off guard. 

"Some conversations are better over saké," nodded Tsunade wisely as she lifted the flap of a sign stepping into a saké shop. 

After they were seated and had their first drink, Tsunade sighed. "I want you to know, that I fought very hard against this...this time around. And if you say no, I am going to have no hand in forcing you. Council be damned. After losing Kakashi and your child, this is the last thing you should be worried about." 

Keiko raised an eyebrow curiously. "Now who are they marrying me to?" she asked as Tsunade downed the entire flagon of sake next to her. 

They sat in silence for several minutes. Tsunade seemed to be wrestling with what to say next. Tsunade's face began to flush and she slurred, "Quicker witted than he ever was." Keiko didn't need to ask who “he” was. Tsunade downed another bit of saké before continuing.

"Gaara-sama," Tsunade hiccupped. "The council Hidden in the Sand noted that Gaara-sama took quite a liking to you, and despite his protests that he was going to be involved in the process if and when he ever married, when they put forth your name again he didn't raise a lot of objection."  

"I see," Keiko said, setting her cup down on the table.  

"I can't exactly tell those old geezers where to stick it," she swooned as she hiccupped again, "but you seem to be pretty good at it on your own." 

"I will go," said Keiko quietly. 

"Eh, what was that?" Tsunade said, putting a hand to her ear. 

"I will go" 

Tsunade's face sobered with shock. "Why?" was all she could think to say. 

"I have a lot of good memories here. I'd like to keep them that way. Maybe making some new ones is what I need. Plus, maybe I can learn more to help us in the fight against the Akatsuki." 

"Now don't be taking our hidden secrets to the bed of the demon in the sand," laughed Tsunade stupidly, wagging a finger.  

"Now I know why Shizune keeps you away from this stuff," said Keiko. 

\----- 

"Nee-san! Nee-san!" shouted Naruto as he ran to catch up to her the next afternoon. "What's this I hear about you going back to the Sand? Is team Kakashi on another mission?" 

"No Naruto, I'm going there to stay. The council has decided that Gaara and I should still join our villages," 

"Even after everything that's happened?" Naruto said hotly. 

"I think this time it's that they want to make their Kazekage happy. It was the Council Hidden in the Sand that put forth this request again as I understand." 

"Still, that doesn't mean you have to go. I know Gaara will be good to you, but if you don't want to..." 

Keiko cut across him, "This time I'm choosing to go Naruto." She smiled at him encouragingly.  

Through the day the rest of her friends sought her out to say goodbye before Naruto appeared again with Sakura. 

 "We've been assigned to be your guard to the Sand," he said excitedly. "Leave it to me Nee-san, we'll have you safely there in no time, believe it!" 

As they started through the woods, Keiko smelled a familiar scent. Surely, he wouldn't be that stupid. 

"What is it Keiko-sama?" asked Sakura. 

"Sakura, you don't need to be so formal,” said Keiko, distractedly.

"But you're going to marry the Kazekage-sama. It's only right." 

"You have been my family for more than ten years, honestly, there is no need for that," Keiko said. She continued, "it would seem Kabuto is curious what we are up to. That's the last thing we need to deal with Orochimaru on top of the Akatsuki. When we reach the Sand, I think that we should send word back to the Leaf to get a backup squad to follow you two back." 

"I've dealt with Kabuto before," said Naruto defiantly. 

"Yes, with great cost. You are a great shinobi Naruto, as are you Sakura," she said smiling to her, "but sometimes you have to learn when not to rush in. Sometimes it puts in danger those you are rushing in to protect, not to mention yourself. Sometimes you need to assess the situation. Every shinobi should be willing to lay down their life for their comrades, but if they planned on trying it out on each mission, that memorial would be getting fuller by the day." 

Naruto thought for a moment, "I suppose you're right." 

Keiko flew them up to the balcony of the Kazekage and reached for the door and it flew open. Sand grabbed them all and threw them to the floor inside the Kazekage's office. This time the sand gently lifted Keiko from the floor. 

"Still being rude I see," said Gaara, half grinning as he reached out his hand for Keiko's. 

"Still assaulting guests I see," said Keiko flatly. 

Naruto jumped up as Sakura dusted herself off. "Gaara!" he shouted. 

"I wasn't sure you'd come," Gaara said, still facing Keiko. 

Keiko said nothing.  

 _"Maybe she didn't come willingly,"_ Gaara thought. 

"Gaara-sama," began Sakura. Gaara startled at being addressed this way by her. "Can we borrow a hawk? We need to send word to our village to send a backup squad. Keiko sensed one of Orochimaru's henchmen following us." 

"I see," he said, eyes narrowing as he thought. "Up the stairs to the left." 

Sakura watched the hawk set off as dust blew across the horizon of the setting sun. _Orochimaru_ _. Does that mean_ _Sasuke_ _is nearby?_  

 


	12. A New Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I hope it's ok so far. This has all been...2 days of writing down all my thoughts. I hope I apply myself this well to work and school. I get on a roll and can't stop. I don't know if anyone will read or enjoy it, but it's been fun to write so far!

A Sand shinobi showed Naruto and Sakura to their rooms. Keiko stayed behind and watched their backs as they left. 

"You know I'd never force you..." Gaara began. 

Keiko stared at the door as it closed behind her squad. 

He continued, "I know you came here willingly, but I'd never force you to do anything you didn't want to do." 

"Well you ought to know, no one can force me to do what I don't want to do," she said eyes flashing as she continued to stare at the door. 

Gaara said nothing. He stood there, staring at her expressionlessly for a long moment. When it became clear he had no intention of breaking the silence, Keiko turned to him. 

"I'm sorry, I am not angry at you. I just, need some time," she said.  

Keiko went back out to the balcony and crouched down. She traced with her finger the sand that had gathered from the dust storm growing on the horizon. She swirled it around like a pouting child. She had just lost Kakashi only a few months ago. She felt something familiar stir in her when she looked at Gaara's face. She was expecting this to be an arrangement out of duty and so she could find new purpose. Above all, so she could honor her promise to Kakashi's memory that she would train. She cared about Gaara, but she hadn't ever thought of him that way. 

But that wasn’t true, a small voice said fairly. Her mind drifted back to when Gaara was saved by Chiyo-oba-san, how something had stirred then. She pushed the thought aside, angry at herself for tarnishing Kakashi's memory in this way. He would want her to be happy though, the small voice said. She barely even knew the guy and he was always so...blank, she shot back at it. 

Gaara came out to the balcony, an invisible shield around him repelling the sand as it blew more violently. Keiko hadn't even noticed it picking up while she was lost in thought. 

"You're our guest here, for as long as you want. I won't push you into anything, but I am going to ask you come inside. Sandstorms can get very dangerous."

She followed him back inside under the umbrella of his shield. When she stepped through the doorway, the sand lifted from her clothes and hair with a wave of Gaara's hand. "Thank you," she said. 

There were a couple larger rooms near the Kazekage's room meant for family if he ever wed. He took her to the largest room and bid her goodnight. She went to the window and tried to look out, but the sand cloud was so thick now, she could see almost nothing through it. She lay down on the bed and was asleep almost instantly. 

It had been a long time since she had flashbacks of war. Even after the recent battles with the Akatsuki, usually her thoughts only came to her as feelings when she was awake. Seeing everything replayed while she was asleep was another matter. She wasn't in control. And sometimes they had a tendency to be even worse than they were in life. _Sasori laughed menacingly as her hands turned red, and she was suddenly drowning in a pool of blood. *Poof* She woke up in the hospital wing, and Kakashi was a puppet with no body.*Poof* Gaara turned into the one tailed beast and swallowed Naruto whole._  

She woke up in a sweat. Gaara was kneeling next to her with his hand on her arm. "No!" she snarled, fangs bared as her eyes glowed red dangerously. To his credit, he didn't jerk away. 

"You were shouting in your sleep," he said. 

"I'm sorry," she said, looking down at her elongating claws, "I was having a bad dream. You must think I'm a...." 

"Monster? So was I, if you remember," replied Gaara. 

"But you're not anymore." 

"That doesn't mean I don't remember," he said, standing. He poured a glass of water from the pitcher by the bed and handed it to her. 

"Do you ever see their faces?" she asked.

He didn't reply. "The faces of those you've killed? The faces of those you've lost..."she continued. 

"Every day," he said. "I didn't used to until I met Naruto. Once the way I saw people changed, I started seeing their faces in a different way." 

She thought about that for a moment. That was exactly how she felt about the people in the Hidden Leaf. Things were different in this world. She sighed. "Well I doubt I'm going to be going back to sleep any time soon. Will you stay, for a while?" she asked. 

"Sure, but just let me know if I violate your space," he said, grinning, she thought for the first time. 

"So hardened sand DOES crack sometimes," she shot back. 

He slumped down on the bed next to her, leaning his back against the headboard. "I'm learning to at any rate. This is all so different to me." 

"You're where I was before, the first time I started feeling accepted by humans. I feel like part of me is going backwards now, and I don't want that. That's part of why I came here, to keep moving forward," she said, "and to train hard." 

He looked sideways at her, reading the determination on her face. 

They sat in silence for a while before she sat the water glass down on the table next to her and leaned back against the headboard next to him. She could feel the warmth radiating from his shoulder that was only an inch from hers. She listened to the wind outside howl as it lulled her back to sleep. After several minutes went by, she started leaning to the side involuntarily as her body relaxed. Her head drooped awkwardly onto Gaara's shoulder. He wasn't really sure what he should do. He didn't want her to wake and snap at him again. He gently put his arm around her and repositioned her so she wouldn't slide face first down into is lap. When she didn't wake, he leaned his cheek against her head and drifted off to sleep himself. 

 _Beautiful and kind, and damn sexy_ Kakashi had called her in his journal. In her dreams she replayed her repeated snapping at Gaara. She didn't feel like she was any of those things right now. She had been short and nasty to him since she arrived, all because she was worried about betraying Kakashi's memory. Gaara didn't know anything about what she was feeling inside. He probably regretted asking her there. _Gaara_ _._ She felt warm. She opened her eyes slightly to a darkened room. The moon and stars now shone through the window as the storm had died down. She felt arms wrapped around her in the dark. " _He really stayed. After how nasty I was,"_ she thought. She drifted back into sleep with the feeling of warmth surrounding her, inside and out. 


	13. Butterflies

Sunlight just barely started peaking through the window, a small patch of pink showing through the surrounding dark. Gaara was still there. His eyes opened when he felt her move.

  
“Gaara-sama,” she began softly.

  
His nose was just inches from hers. She shivered involuntarily. She hadn’t been so close to a human's face it felt like in forever. But the fluttering she felt was not because he was merely human.

  
“Please,” Gaara stopped her, “Only Gaara.”

  
“Gaara,” she started again, “I have a lot of things to apologize for from yesterday…”

  
“I can't say I understand everything you’re feeling, but I definitely understand having trouble with trust. There's nothing to apologize for,” he said.

“It's not that,” Keiko sighed. She couldn’t talk about her lingering feelings about Kakashi with the guy she was supposed to marry. This was about moving on and joining the villages. “I just have to learn to let go of some things and move on, and I guess I haven’t forgiven myself for that choice yet. Since I thought we lost you, something about you has given me feelings that are confusing. I’m not sure if it's because we were a lot alike, but I think I cared about you even then more than I had a right to. It was difficult for me to come to terms with that again when I saw you again.”

  
While Gaara still had trouble working out some feelings, he hadn't really experienced anything quite so complex as that. But then again, he wasn’t a woman. He already had assumed she dealt with difficulty over the loss of Kakashi after last night. _“Do you see the faces of those you lost,”_ she had asked. But one thing he did get out of her words is she cared about him and she wasn’t sure what to do with that yet.

  
“Like I said, I may not understand everything, but we have a long time to figure it out, together.”

  
She nodded.

  
He went back to his room and changed. She did the same. When he came back, he asked her to join him outside. They went up to the cliffside and looked out over the village as the sun rose higher, reaching its fingers across the sky. Gaara began in a Horse Stance before shifting. Tai chi, she marveled. He brought her up here to do Tai Chi.

  
“I find it helps me center myself,” he explained.

  
She fell in next to him and prepared to join him before Baki appeared.

  
“I’m sorry to bother you Kazegage-sama and Keiko-sama. We received word back from the Leaf village.”

They went back down to the village and were surprised to find Naruto and Sakura already up eating breakfast at the dining table in the long hall.

  
“Bushy brow is coming,” Naruto said while stuffing his face, “Shikamaru's team too.”

  
Sakura looked at him in disgust.

  
“Any additional word on Orochimaru's movements?” asked Gaara.

  
“No Kazekage-sama. Nothing,” Baki replied.

  
Neji's and Shikamaru's teams arrived without their Sensei's around midmorning. Now that Neji had been made a Jounin, they were sent out alone.

  
“Well I guess we got here pretty quickly I suppose, but getting up so early was a real drag,” moaned Shikamaru.

Temari sidled towards Shikamaru and started making conversation. Keiko noticed the advance and stifled a laugh. Sakura giggled.

  
“I don’t mean to cut the reunion short,” Neji said, “but we have to get back. We have a briefing first thing tomorrow morning regarding the Akatsuki and Orochimaru.”

  
“Don’t worry Keiko-nee-san. We'll be ok. We'll come back and visit real soon, believe it,” grinned Naruto.

  
She watched them go in silence.

  
Another Sand shinobi appeared next to them.

“Kazekage-sama, the council wants to meet in an hour.”

  
Gaara looked at Keiko's profile as she stared after her friends.

  
“Tell the council I am taking the day to escort our guest that they invited so she can feel more at home,” he said.

  
“But Kazegake-sama…”

 

“We will convene tomorrow,” Gaara said shortly. “I’m sure the council doesn’t want it to be said that the Sand summons guests and then abandons them discourteously.

“n..no Kazekage-sama, I mean yes sir,” the shinobi replied.

  
“What do you do in your days off?” Gaara asked, turning to Keiko.

  
She thought for a moment. It had been a while since she really let herself have a day off. She spent most of her days training of late. She grinned mechanically. What she liked…was something probably scarce in the desert.

  
Gaara looked at her questioningly. “It's kind of ironic, I like to spend my time off by the water. It doesn’t seem we are going to have too many opportunities for that,” she said.

“You might be surprised,” said Gaara. He led her behind the palace of the Kazekage to an opening of a cave. Keiko could hear the sound of running water. A stream flowed from the cave as rocks led the way in. Gaara took her hand as they crossed the rocks. A tree stood in an island in the water, reaching toward the small stream of sunlight that reached the floor of the cave. A waterfall fed the stream on the far side. Keiko looked around and noticed a familiar doorway in the wall on the far side of the island. It had the same strange markings around it as the one that brought her to this world. She noted it without comment. She was more interested in the rest of the cave.

  
“Do you like it?” Gaara asked hesitantly.

“Yes,” she breathed. She stepped out onto the water. She hadn’t learned to control Chakra in her feet as of yet to repel water, but she turned the water beneath her into plates of ice as she stepped. This would be a great place to train.

  
“I used to sneak in here as a child when I grew tired of the sand beast whispering to me. He wasn’t all that fond of the water,” Gaara said.

  
Keiko reached out a palm and pulled a stream of water into the air, bending and flowing with it like Gaara's Tai Chi.

  
“What is that?” Gaara asked, eyes widening.

  
“Water bending. I learned it on one of the worlds I visited. I wasn’t able to stay there very long, but I already have a natural elemental attunement.”

  
“Is it something I can learn?” asked Gaara.

  
Keiko watched the water thoughtfully. “I don’t actually know,” she said turning to him. “But maybe we can train together and you can try to teach me what you know and I will teach you what I know.”

  
“Sounds like a plan.”

They spent the rest of the afternoon there, Keiko trying to teach Gaara how to shift water. It moved slightly, but it didn’t come as naturally to him as the sand. It was a start. There was definitely a small shift.

  
When they retired that evening, Gaara slouched down on a couch in the Kazekage's common room. He was surprised that Keiko sat down next to him so close. She curled her legs up next to her and sighed as she leaned her shoulder against his.

  
“Can we train again tomorrow?” asked Keiko hopefully. She hoped it didn't come off that she only cared about training. She was also eager to do so with him. 

  
“It depends on what the council wants,” he exhaled. “As your friend says, it's a real pain.”

  
She wrinkled her nose, trying not to laugh. It was cute. He hadn’t noticed her move closer. She was so close, looking over his face. Gaara shifted uncomfortably. He wasn’t really sure what she wanted and he didn’t want to make any assumptions. Gingerly, he reached a hand up to her cheek and touched it lightly with his fingertips, testing the waters. Her eyes softened and she made no move to stop him. He leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. His heart was beating faster. He wondered if hers was. He had never touched a girl before, let alone kissed one. He opened his eyes as he felt her nose touch his. He brought his lips to meet hers as she relaxed against his touch. Instinctively, he ran his hand down her arm and down around her to the small of her back. He pulled her into his lap and kissed her again. She pulled back after a long moment and looked into his eyes, searching.

  
They were interrupted by a wrap on the door. “Kazekage-sama,” they heard Baki's voice through the door. Damnit Baki. Bad timing as always. Keiko slid from his lap and onto the other end of the couch.

  
Gaara sighed. “What is it Baki,” he called out, struggling to keep the annoyance from his voice.  
Baki opened the door and stepped in. “The council wants to know if Keiko-sama can accompany you to the meeting tomorrow.”

  
Gaara looked at him in surprise. He hadn’t been expecting that. “Why?”

  
“I’m sorry sir. They didn't really explain it.”

  
Gaara looked around after Baki left and noticed Keiko had already slunk off to her room. He didn’t know if he was supposed to follow her, but something told him to stay put. Then he heard the water running to the shower down the hall. He got up and went to his room and flopped down on the bed with his arms behind his head, thinking of the way Keiko looked at him. He drifted to sleep.

 

 


	14. Colors of Kimonos

Gaara awoke in the predawn to a weight on his knees. He thought he saw a small pair of canine ears twitching buried among her silver hair. He rubbed his eyes sleepily, and when he looked back, they were gone. She was still there, watching him.

“Still being rude I see,” he yawned. “I thought maybe I scared you off last night.” He wanted to reach for her and pull her into his arms, but he stopped himself. He wasn’t sure how she would react. As if reading his mind, she crawled up and snuggled into the crook of his arm.

“No, I’m just not really used to, being affectionate in public,” she admitted. “Sorry,” she mumbled as an afterthought. She didn’t know why, but she felt like she should say so.

He wanted to tell her he had practically no experience by comparison and she scared the crap out of him, but he wasn’t one to share those kind of thoughts aloud.

“I’ve lived a long time, but this is all kind of new to me as well. I’ve spent my travels training. I never really had time for ideas of relationships,” she continued.

Maybe she really could read minds, he shifted again uncomfortably.

Internally Keiko felt just as hesitant as Gaara. Geez. Kakashi may not have gushed regularly over her, but at least would be forward with her about what he wanted. Despite her confidence in war, she was less confident in matters of affection. Though she had many years on her, she wasn’t much more experienced than Gaara when it came to love. She never felt uneasy with Kakashi's love for her; she always knew where he stood. Damnit. She had to stop comparing to Kakashi. Maybe she wasn’t ready for this. It wasn’t fair to Gaara if she kept looking back. She felt like a human teenager. This was so unlike her. She sighed.

The sun was beginning to spill into the room as she looked up into his face. She kissed him deeply, hoping it made her feelings clear. He reached up and ran his fingers through her hair. The movement made it shimmer in the light.

When they finally broke the embrace, he smiled gently at her. This was the second time he fully cracked the stony expression that typically covered his face.

“Come on, I want to show you something.”

She followed him back to her room and he touched a panel opening a concealed room in the wall. She peered around him curiously and saw a closet full of a range of clothing meant for the family of the Kazekage.

“I guess they want you to come with me to the council meeting, so I thought it would be a good idea if you had something from the village to wear,” he said.

She ran her fingers through the fabric in awe, looking at all the different colors. She never had thought too much about fashion and there was so much to look at in here. She always just wore the Kimono that was traditional for her house. Gaara stepped back out into her room as she continued to peruse the collection. A glint of metal caught his eye from a table by the window. He walked over to it and picked up a book wrapped in headgear of a Leaf shinobi. He knew he shouldn’t be nosey, but he was curious. The book fell open and the thumbed through it. It was completely blank.

Keiko walked out holding a long red and brown Kimono and looked down at his hand. Her face fell when she saw him holding the journal.

“It was his I take it,” Gaara said quietly. Keiko stood there and held her breath, her stomach roiling. “It's ok, I’m not angry. I know you didn’t really come here because you fell in love with me; I know the conditions under which you came. I’m sure this is difficult for you as well.”

He set the journal back on the table and walked over to her putting a hand on her cheek. “That’s a good color,” he said, “it matches your face.”

Keiko wrinkled her nose again and he grinned.

 _“I found her really intimidating at first when she got here, even though I thought we were friends”_ _he thought._ _“_ But you’re actually kind of cute when you relax,” he finished aloud to himself.

“Hm?” Keiko asked looking at him questioningly.

“Nothing,” he said. “I’ll leave you to get changed and we'll have breakfast after a while.”

She peered out from the door after he had walked out to the common room. He had shrugged out of the top part of his yukata, leaving it to dangle at his waist. His muscles flexed across his bare arms and torso as he went through his stances. Keiko felt fluttering in her throat. She disappeared back into her room and started going through all the drawers in the closet looking at different accessories and geta to distract herself. About 15 minutes later, she heard the shower down the hall turn on and she felt it was safe to emerge. Gaara joined her in the common room before they headed for breakfast.

Kankurō and Temari were in the dining hall when Keiko and Gaara walked in. “Well, I guess she does clean up like a Sand villager,” grinned Temari. Keiko sat down next to her and Gaara pushed in her chair.

“Aww, what a little gentleman we raised,” cheesed Temari. Gaara glared at her. Whether in annoyance, Keiko couldn’t tell, but Temari flinched out of habit. It had been several months now since Gaara had been freed of the one tailed sand demon, but they still expected it to give rise when Gaara was annoyed or angry.

He joined them at the table and ate in silence. Temari continued to drill Keiko with all kinds of questions about herself and her village, and about Shikamaru.

A hawk fluttered in through the open window and landed next to Gaara on the back of an empty chair. He removed the scroll from the tube on it's back and skimmed through it. “Looks like it's for you,” he said, handing it to Keiko.

_Dear Keiko,_

_I wanted to keep you apprised of the situation with the Akatsuki and Orochimaru. I don’t believe they will have any further use for the Sand Village, but it is possible they may want to exact revenge and make an example for their fallen comrade. We don’t know if that is part of their agenda. Moreover, I’m very concerned that if Orochimaru finds out about you, that you will make an attractive target for him considering your unique qualities. Even if he succeeds in taking Sasuke before we can get to him, he will still need to take new hosts._

_The “kids" wanted to include something for you. There's a summoning scroll attached, maybe Gaara can teach you how to use it. You wanted to learn, I didn't say I would make it easy!_

_I know you will be missed around here. Naruto misses you especially. I’ll make sure to send them along to visit when we can._

_Yours,_

_Tsunade_

_Fifth Hokage_

_Village Hidden in the Leaf_

Keiko pulled out the summoning scroll. She wondered what was on it. Gaara peered at it from the corner of his eye. “Now who’s being rude,” she teased. Temari and Kankurō looked at each other after watching the exchange, mouths full so they said nothing. Keiko left the table and went to tuck the scroll away inside Kakashi's journal. When she returned, they all left for the council meeting together.

 


	15. Gaara, did you know? Yokai like Apples.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. The title xD

They walked into the council chamber. Keiko sat down smartly in the chair that had been provided for her next to Gaara. She sat tall and straight, no longer joking or awkward. It amazes him how regal she appeared in public when she had been so flighty and awkward the day before.

“So, for the first order of business,” began an elder of the council, “ the Kazekage has requested an artificial hotspring commissioned to be made available to the people of the village to raise morale and provide a place for shinobi to relax between missions. The budget for this is on the sheets in front of you.” They all leaned over and skimmed over the page. “All in favor say, ‘aye.’”

“Aye,” they all repeated.

“Any opposed? Good. Motion passed.”

They continued on like this for a while, going on about various details. Keiko sat politely interested. She showed no signs of the restlessness Gaara was feeling.

“Finally,” droned the elder, "in the matter of the Kazekage-sama's wedding, we estimate that with the assistance of Keiko-sama, we can have the hot spring done in a few days. It would be a great wedding gift to the people. I believe we should start sending out the wedding invitations immediately…”

Gaara raised his palm to stop him, “With respect, elder. Keiko is our guest here and you know my feelings on arranged marriage. If and when she decides…” Gaara felt a hand on his knee beneath the table. He turned to look at Keiko.

“My apologies Kazekage-sama, but I came here with the intent of honoring my promise between our two villages. I am prepared whenever the council and the Kazekage-sama are ready.”

Gaara tried to hide his look of surprise.

“Excellent,” the elder continued. “I understand you have skills in moving the elements. Would you be willing to help us on the hot spring? We would like to break ground tomorrow.”

“Of course.”

“In the meantime, we will look for someone skilled in calligraphy that can start on the invitations.”

“Finally,” said Talemari, stretching as they left the council chambers. The Sand siblings and Keiko milled out into the street. They were met by Matsuri who grinned broadly at the sight of Gaara. “Kazekage-sama! Everyone, how are you today?"

  
“I’d say he’s pretty good for a guy about to be tied down,” grinned Kankuro.

“Ah! So Keiko-sama has accepted?” Matsuri asked excitedly, pressing her hands together. “Have you picked out what you’re going to wear?”

Keiko watched as the shinobi kept jabbering and escalating in excitement. Before she knew it, Matsuri was leading Keiko down the road by the hand towards a dressmaker, talking all the while. Temari shrugged and followed them.

“Women,” kankuro scoffed.

Another shinobi appeared next to Kankuro and Gaara. "Excuse me kankuro-sama, but we have need of your expertise on the mechanisms of some of the new defenses we just installed.”  
Kankuro waved lazily to Gaara as he followed the shinobi towards the balliste positioned on the cliff.

Gaara was left standing alone to think about all that just happened.

Later that afternoon, Gaara was up working in his office. He heard the door slide open and shut. He didn’t even bother looking up. There was only one person that would be. Keiko pressed her nose to the glass looking outside, shifting left to right. After a moments confident she wasn’t followed, she slid down onto the couch.

“I take that it didn’t go well”

“That girl tried to drown me in fabric from a thousand worlds. I’d rather go to our wedding naked than be constricted in a corset,” she groaned.

Gaara's eyes flashed with desire from across the desk. Keiko was leaning back with her eyes closed and missed it.

She opened her eyes and Gaara quickly looked back down at his work. She got up and walked over to the desk. She grabbed an apple from a bowl in the corner and sat down on the edge of the desk.

“Always rude,” said Gaara, annoyed as he pulled papers from under where she sat.

“So what are you doing tomorrow?” she asked casually.

“Finishing these reports I expect.”

“I think it would be better for ‘morale' if you came with me to break ground on the hot spring, since sand is your specialty and all,” she said, rolling the apple around in her palm.

“I don’t know that they’re going to want the Kazekage to do that sort of thing.”

“Aren't you kind of the one that gets to boss them around?” she asked.

“It's something I’ve always kind of had to battle against, my past considered, and because of my age.”

“Well they chose you to lead for a reason. I’ve seen you push back in the council. Maybe sometimes you might need to do that with other things,” she said before taking a bite out of the apple.

He watched her lips graze the red skin thoughtfully. “Ok. I will go with you tomorrow, but that means I’m going to need someone's rear off my desk so I can finish this,” he said flatly.

Keiko smiled into the apple before walking out of the room without looking back.


	16. The Hot Spring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nudity warning

Before heading off to bed, Keiko asked some of the staff of the Palace of the Kazekage if they could help her find some clothes that would be comfortable to work in the next day. There was nothing among the beautiful garments in her closet that would be fitting for as filthy as she was probably going to get. They were happy to bring her some freshly laundered shinobi garb. Keiko had never worn anything like it before. She set it on a chair in her room before dimming the lights. 

\--- 

They set to work the next day at the dig site. Builders were already working on the bathhouse. Some of the villagers gathered to watch the Kazekage and his future wife break ground. They all cheered as Gaara stepped up to the side of the site. The crowd went quiet.  

"Say something," Temari prodded in a whisper. 

"Everyone, in a short while, Keiko-sama and I will be married to join together the Villages of the Hidden Sand and Leaf. We will be bonded as more than just allies in the fight against rival villages, we will be bonded in blood. The recent battles have been hard and taken their toll on us all. Today we break ground to a new era. This hot spring is the village's gift back to you," Gaara said over the crowd. 

The sand started swirling behind him and Keiko took a stance, feet apart and facing a palm towards the dig site. A crack spread across the ground from her left foot and the crowd cheered even louder. They continued to work at clearing and sculpting the land throughout the morning. The crowd slowly started to disperse as the hours went on, going about the rest of their day.  

  

\--- 

"Hmph," said a man on a cliff overlooking the village. He was shrouded in black robes with red clouds. His blonde hair fell over one eye. "And what are you doing here, Kabuto?" asked Deidara. Itachi stood beside Deidara and continued to stare blankly out over the Hidden Sand Village. 

"Spotted me did you?" asked Kabuto, stepping out from behind a nearby rock. "Same as you I suppose. Orochimaru has heard some rather interesting rumors about that woman down there." 

"Tell Orochimaru he better lay off this one. She has been claimed by the Akatsuki. Hmph." 

Kabuto shrugged, "I didn't realize anyone actually owned her before she has been caught. My mistake. I imagine that she would amplify the powers of the extracted tailed beasts exponentially. I can see why she is quite the catch." 

Itachi turned to look at Kabuto fixedly, "I strongly advise that Orochimaru heed our warning this time. He was no match for me, I doubt he could defy us all." 

\--- 

When the ground was all dug out, pumps and heaters were brought in by the builders. The sun was already getting low in the sky. Keiko was disappointed that they had to stop already, but she could tell that the others were at their limit. They weren't used to expending chakra on menial tasks all day that were normally done by manual labor. 

Matsuri appeared with a couple villagers pushing a cart full of food and drink. They all stopped and gratefully accepted the gift as they all took up a seat in various areas of the pits. 

Keiko sat down on a rock next to Gaara and offered him a water. He waved his hand and the dust flew off of her once again. Keiko gracefully pulled her hand up into the air, pulling all her fingers together as she did. Water lifted from the glass and splashed him in the face as she followed through with a whip motion with her hand.  

"Losing composure in public, now are we?" He wiped his face on his sleeve. She smiled. Temari sat quietly near them and watched as she sipped her tea with both hands. 

\--- 

The hot spring was finished by the end of the next week. Keiko had spent all of her time overseeing the project; she really didn't have time to do anything else. The builders asked if the Kazekage and his future wife could be the first to use it for all their hard work. 

That evening, rooms were prepared at the inn that had been built near the bathhouse. In the changing room of the bathhouse, Keiko tied her hair up on top of her head. She grabbed a towel and walked outside to one of the private pools. Gaara was already in the water, his face slightly flushed from the heat. His eyes were closed as he leaned up against one of the rocks around the edge. Keiko put her towel down beside the pool and stepped toe first into the water. 

Gaara opened his eyes and flushed a deeper shade of red. 

"Are you ok? You don't look well," she asked him. 

"What the...where is your towel?!?!" 

"It's by the edge," she said, descending further into the water. "Do you need me to get it for you?" 

"Not...what...why..." he stammered. 

Keiko tilted her head at him in confusion as she dipped the rest of her torso beneath the surface. 

Gaara felt himself harden beneath the water. "Why aren't you WEARING it," he gasped. 

"You wear clothes when you bathe? I've never experienced that on any world I've been to. And every hot spring I've been to people don't wear clothes." 

"Yes, when you are with the same _gender._ You're supposed to cover yourself in a co-ed pool," he hissed. 

"Why are you worried anyway. We're going to be married in a few weeks. Do you...not want to see me naked?" she asked raising an eyebrow. 

He continued to stammer as she swam up next to him and grasped his bicep with both of her hands, pulling herself close to him. "Of course I…not what I…gods you make this so difficult," he squeaked. She kissed him and tried to pull herself up in front of him. He pushed her away, not wanting her to feel the throbbing between his legs. "Just, let's stay like this, ok?" he said weakly. 

Her hand brushed by him as she moved back to his side. She smirked devilishly when she felt him. Rearranging her face back to a passive expression, she said, "Ok."  

They went to their separate rooms back at the inn. Gaara leaned up against the back of the door after he closed it. He couldn't get the image of her out of his mind. He felt himself twitch again between his legs. He was not used to how to handle these situations, not having ever been in any. It took everything he had to not grab her and take her right there. He wanted her to feel safe with him and not push her until she was ready, but damn sometimes she made it hard.  

He went to the bed and reached down hoping to satisfy his urge but didn't feel right about it without her consent. Instead, he rolled over and went to sleep. 

\--- 

Now that the hotspring was finished, Keiko planned to bring up the summoning scroll to Gaara. She wanted to find out what her friends had sent, but she wanted to be the one to do it. Back at the common room she brought it to him. 

He smirked when she asked.  

"What?" 

"Oh, nothing. I guess today we should go to the cave and train." 

He worked to try to move the water for a while, while she worked on some handsign he showed her. He was making more progress than she. After about an hour he came over to her. 

"I'm sorry, I just can't anymore he laughed." It was good to see him laugh. Keiko was both pleased and confused. Gaara undid the seal on the scroll and the contents were released. 

"You don't need chakra to release this kind of scroll," he explained.  

Damnit Tsunade, that was a stupid trick. Gaara continued to laugh as a vein pulsed in her temple. 

She reached down for the brown package that was tied up with twine. There were several letters slid underneath the string from different members of her village. She pulled out the first one and opened it while Gaara undid the twine for her. "Can I?" he asked. She nodded absently. 

 _Dear Keiko-nee-san,_  

 _It sure is different here without you. I'm training hard, hoping that_ _Tsunade_ _-_ _oba_ _-san will reconsider promoting me t_ _o_ _Chūnin_ _. It seems like everyone is moving up. Don't feel bad for me, things are great here. I know we just saw you a couple days ago, but we wanted to make sure you had this in case we didn't see you before...well before we next see you I guess._  

Gaara was shuffling through the paper noisily as she continued to read.

 _The squads pooled together our money and Sakura has been working on making part of it for a while, ever since you were first supposed to go live with_ _Gaara_ _. She kept it in case you changed your mind._  

Gaara unfolded a beautiful white kimono. It had moonstones on it that glittered in the small amount of sunlight. Keiko inhailed at the sight of it. Gaara pulled out a blue Obi embroidered with the symbols of the Leaf and Sand. 

 _Sakura made the Obi. She hoped you might wear it if you did decide to marry_ _Gaara_ _._ _Tsunade_ _-_ _oba_ _-san says we can't all go because we can't leave the village unprotected, but I hope you will invite us so the old hag will have to let us come!_  

 _Well, see you soon!_    
 

 _Naruto_  

 

Tears filled her eyes and dripped down onto the paper. _It's beautiful. Thank you, Naruto. Everyone._  

Gaara watched her, not really understanding this wave of emotion.  

"Well, I guess you don't have to let Matsuri drown you in constricting fabric now," he said awkwardly, “though I don’t see how this is much different.”

Keiko ran her fingers over the Obi that Sakura had made for her. She nodded silently. 

 

 


	17. The wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ***Warning! Explicit material!!!***

In a few weeks, shinobi from the Hidden Leaf began arriving in the Sand village, at least anyone that Tsunade could allow to come. 

"Nee-san!" shouted Naruto. "The old bat let us come after all. She will be here tomorrow." 

"That's good," Keiko smiled, "and...thank you all for the gift," she nodded. She started hugging those closest to her. Neji stood stock still and Naruto shuffled his foot awkwardly. Sakura of course squeezed her tight. 

She showed her guests around the village and showed them the hot springs they had worked on a few weeks earlier. Temari joined them when she saw Shikamaru in the crowd. 

"I guess that's good because you like water so much," Naruto said. 

"Hmm," mused Temari thoughtfully. 

As evening rolled around, she led them all to the Palace of the Kazekage to the long dining hall. The staff had made a special meal for the guests. They all talked and laughed and brought up memories. Gaara sat quietly listening and taking it all in. He never thought he would have this day; that anyone would choose to be his wife. Moreover, he never thought he would have someone that cared about him before he was rid of the demon. Part of him still hadn't accepted it. 

When it was time for them all to go to bed, the staff showed them all to the guest rooms on the floor below.  

He was alone with her now. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He breathed softly into her neck. 

"I think it might be bad luck or something to touch the bride before her wedding day," she joked. 

"Is it bad luck to tell her he loves her?" he asked quietly in her ear. 

Words caught in her throat for a moment as her eyes glistened. "No," she quivered, "I don't think it is." She turned her head and tilted it towards him, and kissed him fiercely. He could feel the wetness from her cheek transfer to his. 

\--- 

The next day the sun shone and there was a slight breeze. Palm trees had been potted and brought in to surround the place where they were having the ceremony. The archway behind the pulpit looked out on a sea of sand. 

"I know it's not the kind of sea you wanted, but it was the best I could get," he said tenderly as they walked through to inspect one last time before guests started arriving. 

"It's perfect," she said. 

They went to go change as the seats started filling up. Naruto and Kankurō stood up beside Gaara, dressed in all black. Kankurō left his face paint behind. Gaara broke from tradition and wore his usual red, but a more formal style. Sakura and Temari stood in the room that had been erected for their use dressed in silver. They smoothed out Keiko's kimono as she stood there. Inside, she shuddered nervously.  

They started the procession as Sakura made her way down the aisle, followed shortly by Temari. Most of the wedding she had set up in western tradition. Keiko had asked for someone to play piano which wasn't customary, but she was glad she did. She found the sound soothing. The music continued to float, resonating in the air. Keiko started down the aisle and the moonstones twinkled in the sunlight.  

Gaara felt like he had been punched in the stomach. He couldn't breathe. He put a hand on Kankurō's shoulder for support. He didn't see the silly woman with her jokes that he saw when they were alone together. Her sharp features looked like they were cut from the same moonstone that flowed around her feet. She was so beautiful. Gaara felt like heaven had opened and breathed her into this moment. He didn't trust himself to be able to get out his vows. 

When she reached the end of the isle, he took her hands in his. They repeated their vows as the minister read them, Gaara managing to follow his words even though his mind wandered over her face. When he told them to kiss, Gaara couldn't even wait for him to finish before he scooped her into his arms. 

The crowd clapped and noses blew. Cheers erupted from all sides.  

The chairs were cleared away and caterers rolled in their tables. The music continued to play faster as Gaara led his wife out to the floor. They danced long into the evening, and the guests continued to dance long after that as they stole away back to the palace.  

Gaara had been worried about this moment for weeks to come. He had no idea what he was doing. He didn't think he would have the guts to do anything knowing she had more experience than he. He didn't worry about that now. All he could see were her eyes locked on his. His body moved of its own accord. 

He gently slid away the gifts from her friends and draped the clothes over a chair. A thin lining was all that remained covering her thin frame. Keiko barely even noticed Gaara had gotten out of most of his clothes as well. He pulled her onto the bed, his eyes not leaving hers. She hovered above him looking down at his face. He took his hands and moved the shroud aside, starting at her shoulders. Her freed breasts hung over him, partially obscured from view by her long hair.  

Keiko shivered and closed her eyes. "You don't need to be afraid," he said in a low tone. He sat up and pulled her into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. His lips brushed hers as he held her. He slid a hand between her legs and touched her. He had heard a woman needed to be wet before he could go any further. She wasn't. He started to feel discouraged as she shivered again. "We can...do this another time if you're not ready," he said. 

"It's not that I'm just...really nervous. It's not like I do this often," she said pouting. 

Gaara relaxed and grinned. At least it wasn't because she was rejecting him. "I love you, I just want you to let me show you. There's nothing to be nervous about."  

He breathed on her neck as he slid his fingers back between her legs. This time he felt a silky moisture start to coat the tips of his fingers. She undid his pants and released his hardening bulge. It flexed and then the shaft leaned forward against her clit. Her face flushed as she moaned quietly. Gaara continued to work two fingers inside her as she rocked against him, letting him slide up and down against her pleasure. He took his free hand and squeezed one of her breasts, pushing it up against gravity. She moaned again. 

She continued to rock faster with his fingers and he removed them to reposition his erection at her entrance. He felt it slide inside her with great difficulty. She was so tight around him he wasn't sure if he was going to explode or if it would be she. He felt her contract and stretch around him. She continued to rock against him, letting him slide in and out of her. 

Shit, he thought, he didn't know how long he could last with this. She felt so good. He wanted her to go faster, so he could have his release, but watching her ride him and get pleasure from his touch was even better. 

He ran his hand up between her shoulder blades and leaned her back on the bed, keeping firmly inside her as he repositioned. He started doing the pumping as she bucked her hips helplessly into the air.  

"Ghg, ah," he moaned. His breath made a sharp intake as he tried to hold back his impending orgasm. 

She continued to moan. "I love you, Gaara," she whispered. 

He couldn't take it anymore. He sped up, pounding inside her. His heart raced faster and faster in his chest. She gripped him, pulling him close as if she would fall if she didn't hold on, though there was nowhere to go. 

He felt her tighten around him once again and a flow push against him as she reached her peak. His own pushed back inside her as he exhaled. 

He collapsed on top of her, still pulsing inside her, leaking warmth as it slowed to stillness. He wanted to stay that way all night, feeling her warmth around him and laying in her arms. 

He was greeted by a luxuriant look in her eyes as well, as her breasts rose and fell, panting from the release.  

They made a huge mess in the bed, he guessed from abstaining from their desire so long. He lifted her in his arms and carried her off to the tub with him. He drew them a bath and lowered her in gently. He climbed in with her and wrapped her in his arms.  

"I don't care what's going on outside these walls," she crooned, "I don't want this to end." 

"It won't. We have the rest of our lives," he said, stroking her cheek. 

 


	18. Keiko, Kidnapped

The weeks went by much the same. News kept coming that the Akatsuki were continuing their hunt, and that Itachi had been spotted near the Sand Village. They spent their days together training whenever Gaara wasn't taken by his duties as Kazekage, and at night, they made love in the darkness. Despite the closeness, Gaara felt like he was missing out on something. They only ever really talked about training during the day. When he was working, he'd see her out on the balcony sketching or she would disappear to listen to music being played somewhere in the town. He felt he still didn't really know all that much about her other than a handful of feelings. Part of him couldn't help wondering if she really did just do this because of duty and because she didn't want to be alone. 

She always told him it was stupid to not talk about things, as rightly put; they were going to be together for a long time. He wasn’t used to expressing these kinds of things aloud. He gathered the courage to tell her about his worry. 

"I do a lot of things in the line of duty, but as you know, no one has ever been able to force me to do anything when it comes to love. I'm here because I wanted to be with you and you wanted to be with me. You always make time for me and make me a part of your life," said Keiko reassuringly, "and you know more about me than you think." 

"Do you think I can train with you tomorrow?" Gaara asked recovering from the awkwardness of the conversation. "I think now that the sand demon is gone I may need to work on additional techniques. And since we have the Sharingan to contend with, I'd like to see if there's anything I can learn that's not a jutsu. I've been happy to help you with your training, but I feel like I'm still behind." 

"I'd be happy to train you," Keiko said, eyes bright...but then her face fell; "Only, many of these techniques require the ability to harness magic. We may be able to go over elemental bending techniques. They use chakra as well, but I am uncertain due to that fact if the Sharingan can see it. If only we had Kakashi to..." 

She paused, face going blank.  

"I know what you meant. You should not feel bad about mentioning Kakashi’s name around me. He's a part of you and now you're a part of me. I know you've moved on, but you can't erase your past." He paused. 

"I know tomorrow is the anniversary of his death. Would you like me to visit his grave with you?" Gaara asked. 

She stared at him, waves of emotion coursing through her as she felt a rush of renewed affection for Gaara. "It's not easy," said Keiko, voice shaking slightly, "At least it didn't used to be easy to make an Inu-Yōkai get choked up. My kind would say I've gone weak. Damnit. It seems like ever since I've come here I can't stop it," she said, balling her hand into a fist as she turned her face away. 

"I didn't mean to make you cry," Gaara said uncertainly. 

"I'm not crying...maybe a little," conceded Keiko. "You just...you are very good to me." 

When Keiko woke up the next morning, she found a piano had been moved into the common room. She ran her hands over it. She hadn't played one in so long, she didn't know if she remembered how. He was always spoiling her. She felt like there was nothing she could do for him. She smiled sadly to herself. She was so selfish. Gaara spent all his spare time trying to make her happy, and she made him fear that she didn't truly love him. 

She began to play quietly, trying to remember notes from songs past. She didn't notice Gaara leaning against a pillar on the other side of the room behind her, listening to her play as she got lost in the music. Gaara felt something move inside him, as if his heart skipped a beat. 

Later in the morning, they set off to the Village Hidden in the Leaf. They packed a bag so they could stay there for a few days so Keiko could see her friends. They could have flown, but Keiko missed running through the trees as she once did. She stopped abruptly part way through their journey and Gaara stopped beside her, sand out swirling protectively around them. 

"What is it?" he asked, eyes shifting from side to side looking for movement. 

"Someone has been here recently, someone we don't want to run into," she said darkly. "Flying is too risky. Continuing on foot may be risky as well," she thought aloud. She reached into her pack and pulled out the wand that had been stowed since the last battle. She tapped them both and made them both invisible, or near invisible. 

"What's that?" he asked. 

"It's a charm that refracts the light. It will make us harder to spot, but I'm willing to bet it's not going to fool them for long, especially if Itachi is with him. We need to move faster." 

They managed to reach the Leaf without further incident. Keiko dispelled the concealment. The stone had already been washed that day and there were flowers surrounding the memorial. A few more names had been added below "Hatake Kakashi." Keiko placed her palm to his name. Gaara stood silently watching. She drew the wand again and summoned flowers from the air and laid them at her feet. She pointed it down loosely at her side as Gaara took her hand. Tears came freely as she looked down at the ground. He felt her hand grow warm and his tingled. Flowers started to spring up in the grass all around them until they were standing in a field of white. So, this was what magic felt like, he thought looking up at the sky. 

"Thank you, Gaara, for this" she whispered. He looked back to her face. Tears continued to stream down her beautiful face. "Thank you for loving me...and for forgiving me."

"Hmph, that was so very touching," said a voice from behind them. Deidara crouched on a tree branch. Somehow he managed to regain a set of arms. He leaned forward on one to peer closer at them. "Truly, you are a living work of art. It's a shame, really." 

They whipped around to face him. Keiko growled when the scent of Deidara and Itachi washed over her. She couldn't understand how she missed it before. Her rekindled loss of Kakashi fueled her wrath dangerously. Gaara felt the pressure of the energy build beneath the woman standing next to him. It wasn't merely chakra. The magic he felt moments ago, he could feel it moving at an alarming rate beneath the surface of her skin. 

"How wonderful," delighted Deidara. He continued mockingly, "You do know the art in an explosion. I have been looking forward to this reunion. This time you'll be coming with me. You don't need to worry about your little friend there. We don't need him anymore." 

Gaara's eyes narrowed. Sand exploded out of his gourd and rushed to protect the woman he loved. He would not lose her again. A tidal wave of sand crashed through the trees. Deidara lept faster, avoiding each swipe the sand took. Finally it made a hit and knocked Deidara to the ground. The sand hardened around him and Gaara reached out his hand. "sand cof-" 

Itachi stepped into view between Gaara and Deidara. Gaara's world disolved in an instant. He saw himself inside the one tailed demon, trapped as the beast had once been. They were on fire. Gaara screamed for what seemed like an eternity, even though in real life he stood wide eyed and still, no sound escaping from his mouth.  

Keiko moved to shoot a curse Itachi's way, but someone grabbed her from behind. A new scent joined the ones from before. "Sleep," whispered the voice as a clammy hand pressed against her forehead. She knew no more. 

"Leave it Itachi," said the voice, "we need to get going before Kabuto shows up. I don't want that pest following us back to headquarters." 

When Gaara awoke from the nightmare, Keiko was gone.

 


	19. Summoning the Guard

Several ANBU black ops members appeared where Gaara stood moments after he was released from Itachi's jutsu. Four of them took off into the woods to try and pick up the Akatsuki trail. The rest stood motionless guarding the perimeter of the clearing. Several other shinobi were making their way towards Gaara, led by Naruto. They had recognized Gaara's signature moves and thought he may be in trouble. 

"Gaara!" Naruto shouted.  

"What happened?" asked Sakura. "Is Keiko with you?” 

"They took her," he replied, his voice unsteady. A veil of shock still covered his face as he swayed slightly. 

"You mean you came alone, after that speech Keiko gave to me about not taking risks and getting backup!?!?!" he yelled. 

Sakura shut her eyes and turned away. This was the first Naruto hadn't called Keiko "sister" in a long time. There was going to be hell to pay if he lost control. They weren't related by blood and Keiko had no family there, but she supposed that Naruto felt a kinship with Keiko because they both shared a demon spirit. 

Sakura looked back to Naruto, "Even if it was reckless, those two had each other and they are pretty powerful together." 

"Still," said Shikamaru, "we have teams to back each other up in case there's trouble beyond what we are prepared for." 

"You guys aren't helping," growled Sakura, giving Gaara a sideways glance. She couldn't read his current expression, but she was sure inside he must be feeling terrible. 

"Don't worry Gaara, we'll get Nee-san back," said Naruto, softening. "You're my brother now. I won't let you down." 

"Thank you, Naruto." 

The ANBU that had gone searching appeared back in the clearing.  

"They can't risk going too far from the village without being prepared," said Shikamaru. "I wonder if they found anything." 

Tsunade herself came down having heard the news that the Akatsuki attacked the Kazekage at their own borders. 

"I think we better resume this discussion back in the village. I know it's difficult Kazekage-sama, but if you would please join me in my office, we can discuss what to do next." 

Naruto looked back at the memorial stone and he noticed the flowers carpeting the ground. _Nee-san. I wonder if Kakashi-sensei were here if he would have been able to protect you. Gaara is really strong, but Kakashi-sensei was on a whole different level, from all of us. But Itachi still beat him. We're going to make you proud sensei. We will take him down, together._

Back in Tsunade's office, she offered Gaara a seat. "Ibiki, what's the report. Did your operatives pick up a trail?" 

"No my lady," he said gruffly. "It seems they have someone with them that excels in concealment. We didn't find a trace and it seems they've masked their scent. We have some members of the Inuzuka clan continuing to try and pick up anything that's been missed." 

"This situation with the Akatsuki is beginning to get out of hand. They've taken out one of our best shinobi, they've managed to capture the Kazekage once, and now they've captured Keiko. I was concerned that Naruto's presence alone may put the Leaf in danger. We can't have them marching into the Hidden villages and doing as they please. We need to find a way to stop them. Soon," Tsunade said, biting the tip of her thumb. 

"Tsunade-sama," said Shizune, "this just came for you from the Raikage." 

"The Land of Iron?" said Tsunade in surprise. She read through it in silence as the others watched. "This might be just what we needed. It sounds like the other villages are having trouble with the Akatsuki as well. They wish to hold a Kage Summit." 

"They haven't held one in years," said Shizune in surprise. 

Tsunade looked at Gaara as he looked down at his hands in his lap thoughtfully. "Maybe it's time. Regardless of our strength, the Akatsuki continue to be a problem. I was only saved because our villages worked together. Perhaps the only way we can save Keiko and the other Jinchūriki is by joining forces with the others as well." 

"Meaning no disrespect Kazekage-sama," began Ibiki, "You are young yet. The depth of the mistrust and war between the villages is what drove them into hiding in the first place. Saving a bunch of demons is not going to persuade them." 

Gaara flashed at him dangerously.  Another man having seen what Gaara used to be might have flinched, but Ibiki stood unconcerned.

"That's enough Ibiki," snapped Tsunade. "Perhaps the other villages have not come to appreciate the Jinchūriki as we have, but they can hardly ignore the fact that the power of the Akatsuki and Orochimaru is spreading, and if we don't do something soon, everyone is going to be left to fight a war alone that they cannot win." 

Tsunade turned, "Shizune, please reply to the Raikage that the Leaf accepts the invitation." 

Gaara rose, "The Sand accepts as well. I will need to return and inform the council." 

"Ibiki, please inform me immediately if the ANBU find anything," said Tsunade. 

After Shizune and Ibiki left, Gaara turned to Tsunade. "Please Hokage-sama. If you hear anything..." 

"I will let you know immediately," she smiled kindly. "She is well loved here too. If there's a chance we can save her, we are not going to leave her to die. Not so long as I am Hokage." 

"The world is changing. There was a time not so long ago, no one cared about monsters. If we can change their minds, maybe we can change the minds at the Kage Summit," he said. 

"I'm going to arrange an escort for you back to your village," Tsunade said. "I can't spare many at the moment until we have more information, but I think a small detail should stay there with you a while to help investigate any leads from your end, and they can back you up if for some reason there is more trouble. I want it clear to the people we stand together. I don't know what this summit will bring, but I'm sure it's not going to go smoothly." 

 

 


	20. Snake

"That really was a clever plan, Kabuto,"  Orochimaru praised. 

"Well it helps to have allies that are so skilled in  genjutsu . Still, I'm really surprised it fooled Uchiha  Itachi . I didn't think it was going to be so easy to make it appear like she was leaving with them when she was really leaving with us," he shrugged.  

Keiko felt weak, her strength being sapped by the bonds. Her face elongated as she growled. She was infuriated, first being handed off to the Akatsuki, and then to  Orochimaru . If she only could get free, they would be obliterated in an instant. She was done playing games. This time, there was no one among the enemy she really needed alive. A snake coiled around her, glowing a menacing purple and black. It hissed when it felt her move. 

"Kabuto tells me you have a rather interesting set of attributes. A reasonable chakra, magic..."  Orochimaru grinned.  

".. and she's as close to immortal as...non-humanly possible," finished Kabuto. 

Keiko struggled against her restraints again. She felt like she was being suffocated. 

"There's no need for that my dear. Kabuto has been following and studying you for some time. We know there are things you can do beyond regular shinobi. I had these designed special," He crooned as he nodded towards the bonds. 

Keiko's fangs grew and her eyes turned murderous. If she could only transform...she could break out of these bonds. 

"It's kind of pathetic really, how easily you were captured by the Akatsuki with your power," Kabuto mocked. "You've been distracted by your emotions. I've been shadowing your steps and you seldom noticed I was there." 

"It's just as well. They saved me the trouble of trying to take you under the Village's nose. They'll be looking to find you among the Akatsuki," said  Orochimaru , "and long before they manage that, our plans will be under way." 

He laughed as he watched her snap at her bonds with her teeth in defiance, trying to fight the suppressing power of the glow. 

"So tell me," Orochimaru paused as the snake continued to coil, "what kind of creature comes from a  Yōkai and a human?" 

"My research indicates that even a  Hanyō possesses many of the same attributes, including long life," Kabuto answered. Orochimaru's grin widened greedily.  

"If you want me to lie with you, then you may as well kill me now. There is no power you possess that is going to convince me to sleep with you," she snarled. 

"Oh my dear, we have other ways if it came to that, but no, not me," he laughed mechanically. "I wanted the Sharingan from my next vessel. The timing of finding you was perfect really. None of my vessels live long. It would be such a waste to have to dispose of Uchiha Sasuke in only a few years. And volunteers are so difficult to come by. What better way than to breed my own." 

Sasuke entered the room and crouched on a step, listening.  

"No way," she growled, "I am not going to lay with a child." 

"By that standard, you've been robbing the cradle since you came to this world immortal one. Your Kazekage is barely older than Sasuke here. Besides, he comes of age in a few days if you're really that worried. I can wait." 

Her brows furrowed deeper as she clenched her teeth. 

"I stand by what I said before. You can fight me, or you can kill me while I'm restrained, like a coward." 

"Oh I have no intention of killing you. The Akatsuki are shortsighted. They couldn't see the value in keeping you whole. In the hundreds of years you may live, you will provide me with many vessels. Hopefully in time you will join me willingly and there won't be a need for such  _ barbaric _ measures." 

Keiko took to a knee as she felt her strength continue to leave her. 

"Sasuke. Why don't you take your guest to her room and get...better acquainted with her," Orochimaru laughed. He continued laughing as Sasuke dragged her away, the sound echoing through the chamber. 

Sasuke tossed her on the bed. "Don't worry, I'm not going to touch you." 

Keiko remained tense, still snarling. 

"I came here to get power from Orochimaru, not the other way around. Sleeping with a demon doesn't really fit into my agenda." 

"So what are you going to do with me?" 

"Well," he said, "you coming here complicates things. I'll kill you if I have to, though I imagine that would upset the Village Hidden in the Leaf a great deal and that's not really part of my plan either. I may have to make a move sooner than I planned." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Note: funny story. I had missed the episode where Kabuto actually uses snakes to siphon Chakra off Naruto in Shippuden and I just saw it yesterday. I about died laughing. I understand Kishimoto-san’s aesthetic and sometimes I come up with similar ideas. I haven’t seen every single naruto episode, so I’ve been working on going back through from the beginning.


	21. Leading the Way

Gaara arrived back at the Village Hidden in the Sand within a couple days. It wasn't as fast traveling with the others. It didn't appear they'd been followed. _"They got what they wanted,_ _"_ he thought ruefully. _"I was such an idiot to think I could protect her alone when I couldn't protect myself. I need more training."_  

Temari and Kankurō rushed to him when they saw him walking up the path to the village with shinobi from the Leaf in tow. 

"Where have you _been?_ " Kankurō asked. 

"Are you ok? Where's Keiko?" asked Temari. "We received a letter from the Land of Iron and from the Hidden Leaf. We thought something terrible was happening." 

"Something terrible _is_ happening," said Gaara, "we need to assemble the council. Immediately. I need to gather some things first. Spread the word, we convene in two hours." 

Temari and Kankurō looked at each other but didn't ask any further questions. Gaara's eyebrows furrowed in determination and they knew he meant business. Years of habit made them not want to test him. 

Gaara searched through any records he could find regarding the last Kage Summit. The Hokage was right. This was not going to be easy. Any hope he had to sway them sank in his stomach when he learned that he was in part the reason that there was mistrust among the villages. The Leaf once intended to distribute the tailed beasts among the villages, but the fact that the Sand already had one nearly started a war. Still, the idea that the Akatsuki sought to possess them all hopefully would help them to focus at the problem at hand and let go of the past. 

He sighed and rolled up the last scroll. He didn't know how this was all going to turn out. Keiko always told him that they chose him as a leader for a reason. That's why they welcomed him home when they thought he was lost, even though he was a monster. It was time to be the leader they hoped he was. 

Gaara walked into the council chambers as the others were arriving. They hadn't been summoned unscheduled by the Kazekage in some time and some of the older members grumbled. He waited until they were seated before proceeding. 

"I've asked you all here because we are on the brink of war," he said flatly. 

The grumbling stopped for a moment before murmurs began ascending around the room. 

"It has been brought to my attention that the other shinobi villages are having increasing altercations with the Akatsuki. A Kage Summit has been called. I have accepted attendance on our behalf." 

"But Kazekage-sama," one of the council members interjected. "The Lands already hold a very delicate peace with us as it is. Coming before the Summit yourself, considering, may rekindle...old feelings." 

"Under the circumstances, I believe this is the best course of action. All the villages alone are not enough to keep this enemy at bay. I've just received a report from the Leaf that nearly all the Jinchūriki have been captured but two. You know the implications of that besides the power they will wield. Six deaths. I am hoping the combined loss will be enough to sway them to look past our differences. Once they are done with the Jinchūriki, who knows what kind of world we will live in at their mercy. Of the remaining two is the nine-tailed fox, the beast from our allies in the Leaf. Naruto put his life on the line for this village...for me. I'll not turn a blind eye when they come for him." 

Several sets of eyes looked down uncomfortably. 

"On top of that," his voice lowered, "they've captured Keiko-sama." 

The murmuring broke out once again. "No," came several voices in shock. 

"She holds back a lot of her power. She has been trying to live belonging as one of us. If they unleash her power and use it to amplify that of the tailed beasts..." Gaara trailed off. 

"When does the Summit take place?" asked Kankurō. 

"We don't know yet. I expect we will hear word over the next few days. In that time, we need to prepare in case things don't go well or if for some reason the Akatsuki choose to return. We are on high alert until this threat is dealt with. Make the preparations." 

There was no longer a face in the room that showed skepticism or defiance. They all sat focused at attention. 

"Yes, Kazekage-sama," they chorused. 

Gaara retired to his room after visiting with the captains of the border guard and the ANBU to relay the situation personally. Each of them shared the same mark of respect and determination that the council members had at the end. 

He retired to his room late that night. He laid down on the bed. He wasn't sure if it was in his mind, but he thought he could smell Keiko's scent in the sheets next to him. A place in his chest twinged painfully at the realization and he got up and went to lay down on the couch in the common area. He lay there listening to the quiet dark for a while before he dissolved into silent tears for the first time since he was a child. _I will find you._  

Somewhere, miles away, Keiko whispered into the darkness,  _"Gaara."_


	22. Lab Rats

Keiko was panting now. She wondered if the bonds would stop sapping her at some point. Orochimaru said it was not his intent to kill her, but at this rate...

“Hmm,” Sasuke smirked. He went through a series of hand signs and released the bonds. “I suppose at this point there’s little point in you attacking me. You’re almost drained.”

 She continued breathing heavily, sweat running down her temple. Her eyebrows were drawn close as she continued to glare fixedly at him, waiting.

“Well, either we can work together or I can kill you now. Your choice,” he said folding his arms.

“I may have an idea,” she said, “but we have to make it look good.”

“I’m listening.”

After she had the chance to recover overnight, Sasuke came to collect her. "Orochimaru is cunning. He very well may see through this ruse,” he said.

“There's really not much choice. It's either we try this to buy us some time, or we have to take him on right now. I’d rather we be at full strength before that happens.”

Sasuke nodded.

Keiko burst from the room, having transformed to her true form; diminished and smaller than usual. She definitely hadn’t recovered. It might help their plan become more believable. Sasuke was close behind her, kunai drawn.

“You won't get away,” he shouted.

Kabuto rushed down the hall hearing the commotion. He fell in step with Sasuke.

“What happened?” he asked sharply.

“The bonds were draining her at an alarming rate. I released her. Orochimaru wants her alive. I thought she was weak enough to not fight back.”

“Fool, the bonds wouldn’t kill her. They were designed to drain her until only a trickle of her chakra is left,” Kabuto laughed.

In the main chamber, Keiko skidded to a stop and turned to face them. She lowered her head to the ground, preparing to spring after them. She roared in defiance, the sound deafening in the hall. She could smell Orochimaru watching them from somewhere hidden from view. Good.

Kabuto drew his kunai as well.

“I have this,” barked Sasuke.

The tattoo spread across his neck and face as he transformed. The hands grew from his back as his hair grew wild and his eyes darkened. He gathered lightning in his hand and he charged as Keiko bounded toward him.

Orochimaru watched, grinning in the shadows.

After they had both exhausted themselves, Keiko took the fall. She transformed back into her humanoid form and lowered her pulse and breathing so she would appear unconscious.

“Well done Sasuke. Take her back to her room and put a seal on the door. We don’t want anymore…accidents.”

Sasuke flicked a glance sideways at him. It didn’t seem like he bought it. Sasuke drug Keiko back to the room and tossed her again on the bed. He sat down next to her. She opened an eye.

“He didn’t buy it, did he?” she asked.

“I don’t know.”

“So what’s it going to take to make him believe you’ve beaten me into obeying?” she asked.

“If you actually obey,” he said.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat up next to him, thinking for a moment. “I may have another idea. One he might actually believe.”

Sasuke undid the seal on the door later that day to bring her food. Orochimaru followed behind him.

“Sasuke says you wanted to talk to me,” he grinned. “Well go ahead, I can’t _wait_ to hear it.”

She sighed, “You know my powers are weakened. I can't really put up much of a fight at the moment until I figure out whatever it is you’re doing to me.”

His grin widened.

“I will do what you want, but I have conditions. And if you don’t honor the conditions, I will not honor mine. I will kill you regardless. It's up to you when.”

Orochimaru laughed, “Such brave words for someone in your condition. Well come on my dear, let’s have the rest of it.”

“I want you to leave the shinobi of the Leaf and Sand alone…and that includes requiring your lackies to do the same.”

“Fine. I have no use for them anyway,” he said silkily.

“That includes Naruto, Gaara, and Sasuke. They are to remain alive and unharmed.”

Sasuke shot a look at her in surprise.

“Hmh. Done,” Orochimaru said airily. “Is there anything else?”

“I want to know everything you can tell me about the Akatsuki.”

Sasuke had been sealed in the room with her from then on. They spent the days going over the information they learned. Sasuke tried to teach her more basic jutsu. There wasn't much to do but forms and handsigns with the seals on the room constantly sapping on their power. It only seemed to affect Sasuke a little from the long term exposure as it had been designed for her.

“You do realize there’s going to come a point soon where they realize we aren’t doing what they want us to,” she said rhetorically.

“We just need to buy a little time. You have more to find out about the Akatsuki and I need to finish my work,” he replied unnecessarily.

Orochimaru summoned them to dinner as he had been doing of late. In keeping with his promise, he told Keiko about the Akatsuki organization, the members, and its origins. He actually seemed to relish reliving his past.

“Well, I’ve shown you mine, time for you to show me yours,” he grinned. “How are my love birds progressing?” he asked pressing his fingertips together.

Keiko almost puked. Hearing those words regardless who it was, sounded so perverse coming out of Orochimaru's mouth.

“Oh come now, surely with all the time you spend together you must be learning to get along,” he laughed.

They both stared at him wordlessly.

“Of course I’m no fool. I was hoping that over the last couple weeks you would come together on your own. At least it would be a little more _enjoyable_ for you if I didn’t have to force you,” he drawled, "but I’m certain Kabuto will be thrilled to have new lab subjects.”

“Sleep,” Keiko heard in her ear before her eyes were dimmed and she lost consciousness.

 


	23. Lost

Gaara received word regarding the Summit much later than he expected. Perhaps they couldn’t come to an agreement where it was going to be held. He patted the hawk absently as he looked down at the scroll. It glared at him sharply before ruffling its feathers and taking off. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw they intended to have the meeting in the Sand. Talk about ruffling feathers.

_…while the Kage Summit typically meets in a neutral location, the current movements of the Akatsuke prevent us from safely meeting in any of the usual locations. As the Village Hidden in the Sand is currently the furthest out of the target zones, it is the most ideal location at this time. We trust that the Kazekage will be welcoming of a delegation from each village in attendance…_

The letter continued on with more of the same. He had 10 days to make sure they were prepared. Delegation? How many people were coming? He sighed and pulled out a clean scroll and started drafting a message to the Hokage.

He looked out the window. He could see the sun wavering on the horizon. A storm was coming like the first night he was with Keiko. He hadn’t been able to sleep in his bed since she was gone, if he could even sleep at all. He spent more time among the people of the town and the patrols, checking on things personally. He had noticed a difference in the morale when he did so. It was time consuming, but the change was unmistakable. They already had been more supportive of him since he had been returned to them from the dead, but he noticed that the elders and officers questioned his decisions less of late.

He wondered if she was still alive or if the Akatsuki had…no, he knew she was alive. He didn’t know how, but sometimes at night he could hear her whisper his name. He never missed anyone this way in his life. He didn’t think he could have ever learned to love if Naruto hadn’t changed him. He finally had everything he had wanted his whole life: the love of his village, the love of a wife, and others who were like him and understood him. He hated the Akatsuki for destroying it. It seemed cruel that his happiness had been cut so short after a life of being outcast and feared.

Thinking about depressing things wasn’t going to help him, he decided. He went up the stairs to where the hawks were sleeping. The one he patted earlier screeched at him and flew up into the rafters avoiding his hands. He picked up another and stroked it gently before putting the scroll on it’s back and watching it fly off into the cloud of dust.

He went back down to his office and found one of his guard from the Leaf standing there waiting

“Kazekage-sama. I’m so sorry to bother you, but we’ve been getting reports from civilians in and around the village of sightings of men in black cloaks with red clouds. Apparently they’ve been asking questions, looking for someone. The description sounds a lot like Keiko-sama.”

Gaara's heart skipped a beat. Could she have escaped?

“And has anyone sighted her?” he asked evenly.

The guard's face remained impassive, “I’m afraid not Kazekage-sama. No one has reported seeing any sign of her of late. If you don’t mind my saying, I feel confident if she were free she would at least get word to you somehow even if she couldn’t reveal herself. I worry that maybe she might be in the hands of someone else…or otherwise….”

“Thank you for the report. You can go,” Gaara said, cutting him off. He didn’t want to hear any more.

“Yes sir.”

So much for the intelligence for the Summit that the Akatsuki movement was far from here. The Akatsuki were certainly getting bold by not hiding their movements, unless it was a rogue member.

_Keiko. Where are you._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \----  
> I have several things written out. Deciding which way to go on Keiko's development. One doesn't show her in a very good light xD but it makes Gaara look pretty awesome as a person. I'm still thinking about it while I'm working on the next chapters. More to come soon!


	24. The Five Kage Summit

There wasn't any time to get word out to all the villages before the Summit. Gaara knew that the delegations furthest away would likely already be on their way. He kept regular communication with the Hokage regarding the situation. She dispersed several teams to sweep the area between the villages in search of signs of the Akatsuki. Gaara dispatched teams to join them. So far, they had come up with nothing. 

The delegations began to arrive that day and Gaara had to see to making sure they settled into their accommodations. Staff from the palace was running around making sure all the special requests of the guests were met. 

"Kazekage-sama," came a voice from behind him as he was giving instructions to one of the palace staff. 

"Hokage-sama, I'm glad you made it ok." 

"Quite, but I need to speak with you," said Tsunade shortly. 

They went up to his office and he closed the door. 

"We've been having problems with a rogue faction in our ANBU black ops called the foundation. Their leader, Danzo, has since been discovered working with Orochimaru. He wants me dead. I have concerns that they may target this meeting in order to overthrow me or otherwise target any of the Kage that don't support his vision," he said. 

"That, on top of the Akatsuki. It seems like they're always vying against us." 

"Yes, but the Akatsuki are also mercenaries. We think, in part, they're working for someone. This business with the tailed beasts is obviously to try and increase their power, but to what end?" She said biting her thumb in thought. "Regardless, we know Orochimaru is working for himself, not that it makes all that much difference." 

"I've stationed additional protection surrounding the Summit in addition to the forces that the other Kage brought. There's not much we can do now but be ready for whatever happens." 

Each Kage brought two guards into the meeting. They stood next to their respective leader in the chamber as the Kage all sat. 

"Thank you for your hospitality, Kazekage-sama," began the Raikage. 

Gaara bowed slightly.  

"There has been growing concern regarding the movement of these Akatsuki. We know that they have attacked each village in turn taking the Jinchūriki, but we are unsure what they plan to do with that power," the Raikage continued, "I am sure some of you have come to the same conclusion I have, that they may be working in part on behalf of a benefactor." 

"Still," chimed in the Tsuchikage, "the Akatsuki in their own perverse way believe they are making the world a better place...by making it miserable for the rest of us." 

"Before we continue, I wanted to mention some concerns regarding the Akatsuki. There was insufficient time to get word out to everyone when we heard, but they have allegedly been sighted in the surrounding countryside searching for someone," said Gaara. 

"For who?" asked the Mizukage. 

"My wife," said Gaara flatly. 

They all stared at him, amazed. 

"What particular interest do they have in your wife?" asked the Raikage. 

"There's a concern that they may use her power to amplify that of the Jinchūriki. We thought she had been captured by the Akatsuki weeks ago, but the fact that they are looking for her and we haven't heard from her leads us to believe maybe she is in the hands of someone else," said Tsunade. 

"Like who?" asked the Tsuchikage. 

"Orochimaru," said Gaara in a hollow voice. 

"So what does HE want with her, and why are the Kazekage and the Hokage both privy to this information," said the Tsuchikage in an accusatory tone. 

"Keiko is from the Hidden Leaf originally. As this threat has been growing, we have been trying to make friends with surrounding villages to unite in peace so we stand a chance. It is obvious that alone, the Akatsuki have been able to march into each of our villages in turn and do as they please," said Gaara. 

"And yet you are the only Jinchūriki to survive the Akatsuki. How exactly is that?" asked the Tsuchikage darkly. 

"A reanimation jutsu from one of our elders. She sacrificed herself to save me. I am no longer a host to Shukaku," answered Gaara. "My wife is...unique. She is very strong and three Akatsuki members were able to take us both on. They are quite the formidable foe and this concerns me greatly that they managed to do so both under my nose and at the borders of a village of our friends." 

He continued, "As for Orochimaru, we believe his interest in her lies in the fact that he is looking for a new host." 

"What is she…that both the Akatsuki and Orochimaru want her power so badly?" asked the Mizukage quietly. 

"Someone interested in peace between all shinobi," answered the Hokage before Gaara could say anything. She was right of course. There was already deep mistrust between the villages. The knowledge that the sand had another Yōkai could only work against them. 

"Perhaps if we just killed her, there would be no need for concern!" shouted the Tsuchikage. 

Gaara balled his fist tightly but said nothing as arguing broke out in the room. 

After a moment, he stood and slapped his hand down on the table, "Stop," he said in a commanding tone. They all looked at him. 

"I will do anything it takes to get her back. I'm asking you to help me. If nothing comes of it and she can't be saved, she would want this; all of us, working together. I've experienced what it's like to live under mistrust as a Jinchūriki, and it makes us weak to be divided. Since the Sand has been willing to accept our neighbors in the Leaf, we are stronger against this threat than we've ever been. We didn't unite to work against anyone in this room. The threat is out there," he said pointing toward the door. "We are asking you to join us against it," growled Gaara.  

He stood up straight and looked at them all. They still kept their eyes silently fixed on him. "For the last ten days, I've known that my wife is not with the Akatsuki. She's out there somewhere, and I've been here because I know the good of all the villages is most important. That's ten days I've had to abandon her when I could have been looking for her," he wavered. 

"Kazekage-sama," whispered the Mizukage. 

"You have moved me son," said the Tsuchikage. "In your position...I highly doubt anyone who has lost so much against the Akatsuki and Orochimaru could be in league with them. I support the Kazekage's request to join forces." 

"As do I," said the Mizukage. 

"The Kazekage has my support as well," nodded Tsunade. 

"Very well," said the Raikage. "From now on then we will be known as the Allied Shinobi Forces. Regular communication is to be kept between the villages and I recommend a delegate from each village stay as a guest in each of the others during the duration of our hunt. These delegates should hold the trust of their Kage and be able to be their voice in each village." 

"Agreed," they said. 

"I'm not sure if it helps you son," said Tsuchikage, turning to Gaara, "but we've been getting reports of movement from sound ninja near the Village Hidden in the Mist. Have you heard anything Mizukage-sama?" 

"Yes, we have been having some trouble with them lately. People have been going missing, but we've been unable to pin down exactly where they are operating from. It's a possibility they are working for Orochimaru as they have in the past." 

"I'll begin preparing my people immediately. After I send the delegates from the Sand, I'd like to mobilize forces to look for the Akatsuki and Orochimaru," said Gaara. 

They all nodded in agreement. 

    
 

 


	25. The Battle

Keiko and Sasuke woke in Kabuto's lab. They were both restrained to metal slabs which were elevated slightly. She heard Sauke's rattle as he struggled against it. 

"That won't do you any good," Kabuto grinned. "I have to admit, I've wanted to further study growing new vessels for Orochimaru-sama, but I haven't been successful thus far." 

He leaned over a microscope and held a dropper to a petri dish. He took another set of Petri dishes and put them in a cryo freezer. "I have you for as long as I need you, but, just in case," he smiled. 

"Don't worry, we don't plan to keep you there all day. We need you both to keep up your strength. You can't build uh...resources for my specimens if we don't keep you healthy." 

Keiko growled, "You have no idea what it is you're messing with. Do you know how unpredictable messing with Yōkai DNA can be?" 

"Science is always a risk," shrugged Kabuto. "I could find a way to force you to do it the traditional way, but without your cooperation I'm not sure how well that would work." 

They heard rumbling coming from all the walls in the underground hideout. Kabuto looked up sharply. 

"Unexpected guests?" asked Keiko, grinning menacingly. She chuckled deeply trying to keep up a bravado she didn't really feel at the moment. 

Kabuto looked at her and a flash of annoyance crossed his face. He quickly recovered and turned it into an equally devilish grin. "I'll be back soon. Don't... _go_ anywhere," he laughed. 

Heh, if he only knew. After she was sure he was gone, Keiko broke out of her restraints. Sasuke looked at her in surprise. 

"I've been working on a way to partition off my magic and chakra so the bonds wouldn't be able to leech my reserves," she explained. "That bastard doesn't know who he's fucking with." 

Sasuke's eyebrows rose at her use of an expletive. He'd never heard her swear quite like that before growing up. She must be pretty pissed. Good. They were going to need their full strength to get out of this. 

"I'm done playing games. I'm done holding back and being weak. Let's get out of here," she said turning to him. 

They looked out from the entrance and saw Kabuto and Orochimaru taking off after some of the Akatsuki in the distance. When they thought the coast was clear, they crept out cautiously.  

"Hmph, long time no see. I have to admit, Orochimaru is pretty good. After all, he was one of us," said Deidara dropping down from one of his creations. “Who would have thought that he and Kabuto would have been able to wipe you right under our nose?”

"But we're better," said Itachi, joining him. "I want to fight you both, but I'm afraid you're going to have to play with Deidara, little brother, until I'm done dealing with our prize." 

Before Sasuke could advance on Itachi, Deidara was already making his move. Itachi was working on separating them so he could fight Keiko alone. Itachi sent a fireball between them which they both had to avoid. Keiko knew she couldn't meet his gaze. She watched Itachi's feet, trying to see where he would go next. Damnit, here she was again without the wand. She'd have to work with the skills she learned.  

She hadn't used this skill in a while because she didn't find it particularly effective against many shinobi with their dodge abilities, but maybe it would be enough to throw him off. She summoned a demon sword from the air that was her birthright from her father; Zenmai, the royal fern. Her uncle had left similar swords for her cousins.  

"Dance, 10,000 fronds," said Keiko. Thousands of leaves swirled into existence like many razors barreling towards Itachi. 

"Hmm, you'll have to do better than that," he said. 

As Itachi dodged the leaves, Keiko shadow stepped as close as she could and made a kiriage cut at Itachi. He started, wondering how she got close so quickly. He dodged her easily, but it had the effect she hoped. 

"You killed Kakashi and the obsession with you has driven Sasuke into madness. I will take you down this day Uchiha Itachi. Prepare yourself." 

A fireball dispelled the remaining leaves as it burned towards her. 

Keiko signed. Ram. Snake. Tiger. "Water style, black rain jutsu," she said. 

Itachi's eyes widened as he jumped back, but he was unable to avoid it. Black rain with the consistency of oil descended around him. He watched as his fireball barreled back towards him, lapping up the drops as it came. He shed his coat and appeared outside the range of the jutsu. He watched it burn. 

"Smart," he goaded, "it won't matter if I can read your movements if you use skills I can't avoid. I can see why Kakashi liked you." 

They heard in the distance Deidara cry out, _"Art, is an explosion!"_ The earth rumbled and shook around them, throwing them both offguard. 

Deidara. He must have been defeated. Sasuke ran into the clearing. He blasted dragon fire in Itachi's direction. It was impressive. Keiko could tell Sasuke was pretty spent from the battle with Deidara. She didn't even realize she had been with Itachi as long as she had. It was almost like he was distorting time. 

Sasuke fell to a knee, Orochimaru's presence pouring from him. He could no longer suppress it. No wonder Orochimaru seemed to be everywhere at once; he had been leaving his mark on so many. Itachi summoned hundreds of black birds to battle the snakes Orochimaru had summoned from his mouth. While he was distracted, Itachi drew the Sword of Totsuka and slashed at Orochimaru. He screamed as he was pulled into a jar.  

Keiko didn't skip a beat. "Water style, syrup trap."  

Itachi dodged the places her trap hit the ground. He landed a ways away from her. 

It had been a long time since she had been clear enough to come at an enemy full force and Itachi was still making it a challenge. The only good news was it was clearly wearing on him as well, especially after the bout with Orochimaru’s clone if that’s even what it was. He had dropped some of his composure and was leaning over slightly, panting. Trying to deal with her and having trapped Orochimaru's spirit was taking its toll. 

"You've finally let down your guard," he panted pointing at her. "All I needed was a finger." 

The landscape around her dissolved as the Mangekyo Sharingan replaced it with images of Kakashi's room. " _I'm begging you Kakashi, please don't go,"_ she heard herself say. 

"Keiko, we can't go through this every time I go on a dangerous mission. I'm always going to be on a dangerous mission. You know I always do my best to weigh the risks." 

"I've never once begged you not to go on a mission. I'm telling you, something about this just doesn't feel right. _Please,_ don't go." 

Kakashi sighed and pulled her into a hug, "I promise I will be careful. I have to watch out for Naruto and Sakura as well, remember?" he kissed her gently before the scene dissolved. Keiko reached out for it, beckoning him to come back. 

She was running through the woods. She could smell the scent of Itachi and blood on the air, but it wasn't his. _Kakashi, hold on._ She stepped into the clearing and found Kakashi staggering with a hole in his chest. He collapsed against a tree. 

"Why," he croaked. 

Tears streamed down her face as she rushed to catch him. 

"Why did you go with him? Why did you choose Gaara over me?" 

"Stop," she sobbed. She turned to where a dark figure stood nearby, red eyes glowing from the dark. "STOP IT!" 

In the real world, Itachi staggered. Keiko's words didn't just ring through the illusion, they came from her outside as well. She shouldn't be able to move. 

"Just stop," she said again sobbing. The scene dissolved again. This time she was standing in a clearing, but Kakashi was already on the ground, bleeding. He was badly burned on his torso. His breath was ragged as she knelt down next to him and leaned over him. This time, he looked straight through her to the sky as if he didn't even see her. Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes as he watched clouds roll across a blue sky. 

"I'm so sorry Keiko," he gasped. He closed his eyes. "I love you." 

Keiko held him and continued to weep. The scene around her cleared as she heard a crash nearby. Sand had swallowed Itachi in his moment of confusion. As he recovered and tried to break free, Sasuke closed with his Chidori. Blood trickled from Itachi's lips as he coughed and collapsed to the ground. 

Sasuke stepped up to Itachi and Itachi touched his forehead with bloody fingers, leaving streaks before taking his final breath. He whispered something to Sasuke but Gaara couldn't hear. 

Once he was confident Sasuke had the situation handled, Gaara rushed to Keiko. 

"Keiko! I'm sorry I didn't make it sooner. Are you hurt?" 

She didn't answer. She didn't even seem to notice he was there. " _Warm,"_ was all she could think when he scooped her into his arms. Tears continued to stream down her face as she buried it in his chest, but she still didn't really seem aware of his presence. 

Sasuke joined them when his battle was finished. "I can only imagine what he showed her," he said. "It must have been agonizing for her to muster the strength to break it." 

Gaara closed his eyes and stood up, lifting her into his arms. He opened them and turned to Sasuke. "You are welcome to come back to the village you know. I'm sure your friends will want to see you," he said. 

"When I'm ready, they will," smirked Sasuke. "Take care of that one," he said more seriously. 

When he had gone, Gaara kissed Keiko gently. "Please come back to me. I love you," he whispered. 

 _"Please come back to me,_ _"_   Keiko had begged. But he didn't. That kind of pain would resonate through the remainder of her unnaturally long life. " _Come back. I love you,"_ she heard again, but it was not her voice, or Kakashi's. She looked up slowly, truly recognizing that Gaara was there for the first time. "You came back," she grinned weakly. 

"I'm not going anywhere." 


	26. Return from the Dead

Keiko woke up in the hospital at the Village Hidden in the Leaf for what seemed like an eternity later. Sakura was there by the bed. Naruto sat in the corner, pulling at his hair in boredom.  

"Keiko," Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Nee-san! You're ok. I mean of course you are. You kicked Itachi's ass!" Naruto said. 

"I had help," she grimaced. 

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked. 

Keiko nodded, "And Gaara. Sasuke is ok," she said seeing the look on Sakura's face. "He wouldn't come back with us, but he's alright. And Orochimaru is no longer a threat for the moment. Itachi had a hand in sealing him away for now." 

Gaara came in to check on her and relief crossed his face when he saw she was awake. Sakura tugged Naruto through the door to give them some privacy. 

"About earlier..." She began. 

"Keiko, I thought I already made my feelings on that subject clear. I'm just sorry you had to go through that again," he said. 

"How did you know?"  

"Because I saw the same look in your eyes when you thought you lost me," he replied. He sat down next to her and took her hand. "I missed you." 

She smiled at him softly and he returned it. "It's good to see you smile. All that sand cracked away after all." 

"Well, you make me smile and I make you cry, so I guess we're even," he joked. 

"Gyah, stop, it hurts to laugh." She giggled. "I guess I'm going to have to come to accept that this is part of being human....feeling things. Sometimes it's clouded my judgement. I need to learn to balance it better, but I don't think it's all bad. Having something I want to protect, makes life worth living." 

He kissed her deeply and stroked her hair. She ran her hands over his torso. "There will be plenty of time for that when you recover," he said grasping both of her hands in his.  

Keiko pouted.  

"Don't give me that look. I'm not going to be party to making your injuries worse. I think the Hokage might come down here and destroy what peace we've managed by beating me senseless. We have the rest of--" 

"Don't you do it. You jinxed us last time you said that," she teased. "The rest of the Akatsuki are still out there, and I don't believe Orochimaru is truly gone." 

They heard a commotion out in the hall. Naruto was yelling something at someone. One of the healers was trying to calm him down. The door slid open and Keiko heard, " _sensei, no!"_  

Keiko was dead. She knew it now. She died facing Itachi. Kakashi stepped through the doorway and her vision swam. She wasn't sure if it was from tears or she was about to pass out. Kakashi looked from Gaara to Keiko, still in his arms. 

"Well, I guess I have a lot of explaining to do," he said awkwardly. 

Keiko shifted and Gaara sensed danger boiling up in her. He gripped her tight before she could leap from the bed. "Let me go, if he's not dead, I'm going to kill him," she growled. 

Kakashi slid the door closed behind him and pulled up a chair. "I just got back, so I really haven't been filled in on everything. I was looking for Tsunade-sama and was told she was here, but I ran into Sakura and Naruto in the hall. I overheard them talking about you," he said still shifting a glance between Keiko and Gaara. 

"A lot has happened...since you've been gone," Gaara said quietly. 

"Naruto saw you die. We held a memorial for you. Over a year it's been!" she shouted. 

"I am so sorry. I was hurt so badly...someone from a nearby village found me and their healers had some special medical jutsu I have never seen before. I've been in a coma for some time," he said. "As soon as I woke up and was strong enough to leave, I came back" he finished lamely. 

A healer opened the door, "I'm so sorry, but she needs rest. I can't have her getting so upset. I'm going to have to ask the visitors to leave." She stepped up and injected Keiko with sedative and laid her back gently. 

Gaara and Kakashi stepped out into the hall. "We were married you know," Gaara said, "several months after we thought you died. The council still wanted it and I think part of her was running away from here, but part of her wanted to do her duty to the villages. I never forced her; she wanted to stay with me." 

"Do you love her?" Kakashi asked quietly. 

"More than my own life," Gaara replied. 

Gaara filled him in on what had been missed while he was away. 

Kakashi nodded. "All I want is that she is taken care of. I copied a new jutsu watching the shinobi of the village that looked after me...it modifies short term memory. If you have no objections, I can make her forget she saw me. She's been through enough." 

"Mhm," Gaara nodded, closing his eyes. 

Making sure the healer was gone, Kakashi slid back into the room. Keiko was awake, but groggy. "You never came back to me," she slurred. Kakashi's heart caught in his chest as he reached for her hand. 

"I'm so sorry my love. I wanted to." He touched her cheek with his other hand before sliding his fingers up to her temples. His chakra glowed white across her forehead for a moment and she passed out. He held her for several minutes before laying her back down and leaving the room. 

"Take care of her," he said to Gaara before walking away without a sideways glance. 


	27. The Betrayal

When Keiko awoke, Gaara was sleeping next to her in a chair. She sat up and swung her legs over the bed. Her head hurt so bad that she thought she was going to be sick. Gaara awoke with a start when he heard her stumble after trying to stand up. 

"Easy, you've been through a lot," he said. 

"What..." she sniffed. Her eyes grew wide as she looked up at Gaara. "This scent..." 

Gaara sighed. He hadn't thought about that when Kakashi offered to wipe her memory. They weren't going to be able to hide it from her forever.  

"He came back a few days ago. Apparently, he's been in a coma for some time. He didn't want to upset you." 

Keiko's eyes filled with tears. Now she knew why she felt so conflicted going to Gaara after Kakashi died. Hindsight bias she supposed. She felt like every fiber of her being was being torn every direction. She loved Gaara every bit as much as she loved Kakashi, and now to find out that they both existed in the world together... 

Gaara could almost feel the conflict welling up within her. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't stand to see her in so much pain, but at the same time, he couldn't live stuck like this. 

"When you're better," he said softly, "I want you to go to him." 

"What?" she shot him a look of surprise. 

"This is...an unusual circumstance. I know if it were anyone else, I'd never have to worry. But you need to be able to make a choice and make peace with that choice," he said. 

"Gaara, you're my husband, I love you," she pleaded meekly. 

"I know you do. But you love him too. I can't take you home with me unless your heart is coming too. Whatever happens, I don't want to know. Just...if you come home with me you need to leave it behind." 

He got up and left. He didn't think he could stand to be in there another minute. He never drank when he went out, but he thought he might join some of the guys tonight. 

After several moments alone, Keiko gathered her strength. She stood up and yanked out the IV. She dressed hurriedly and slid open the window before climbing out into the cold night air. She felt sick to her stomach about what she wanted to do. She was a horrible person.  

Kakashi's door was open and he was sweeping out the dust that had gathered in his apartment. They never did rent it out to anyone. His belongings still sat on the bed in the crate Keiko had packed. 

"My journal is missing," he said when he heard her walk in. 

"I...took it back with me," she said quietly. 

"And how did he feel about that?"   
 

"I made the text magically invisible. He never read it. He said he knew you were a part of me and he didn't mind," she said shuffling awkwardly. 

"Keiko...I..." 

She grabbed him and kissed him. He automatically wrapped her up into his arms. Neither of them were able to hold back. Nearly 20 minutes later clothes covered the floor and he held her naked form close to him. 

"I'm a horrible person," she whispered again aloud. 

"No, I'm a horrible person. I should have stopped it," he said.  

"He told me he wouldn't take me home unless I came to be with you, so I could make my choice." 

"Remarkable man. I'd never make you choose."   
 

She looked up into his eyes. 

"I'm selfish. Had we been married, I'd want to keep you with me as long as you'd stay. Even if it meant part of your heart was his." 

"He wants me to be able to let you go. I don't know if I'm a good enough person to do that." 

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't want you to stay, but you need to go home. I've been asking around. He's good to you and that's all I want. Obviously he's a better man than me if he wants you to make your own choices and be ok. But if one day, something happens to him, you always have a home with me." 

Keiko kissed him gently. 

"Besides, we'll see each other again. Tsunade-sama is stepping down. She's decided she's done. She went personally on a mission to help take down Danzo. Apparently he's been working with both Orochimaru and the Akatsuki. She said she’s had all she can stomach of making decisions for this war. She's going to train healers. I've been chosen to be the new Hokage. They were already going over candidates, and apparently I was on the list before they thought I..." 

He looked back at her. "I'm sorry. I will always be here for you and I will always love you. But Gaara's right, you can't give your love to two people at once and really live life." 

"I never deserved either of you," she sobbed, "since I've already damned myself, will you love me, one last time?" 

"You really want to make it harder for me to let you go, don't you," Kakashi replied, sliding his hands over her body. 

Keiko felt horrible when she went to find Gaara the next morning. She felt dirty. She had been tainting their marriage with her feelings for Kakashi since the day she said "I do." She should leave this world and start somewhere else. She was so ugly and weak on this world. 

She sat down under the oak tree by the water and watched it ripple as bugs skipped across to surface, trying to stay away from the hungry mouths below. She pulled her knees to her chest and leaned her chin between them. This whole love business always made her feel like an immature child. In all of her years, she never experienced this until she met Kakashi, and now Gaara. She couldn't even do what was best for them. She didn't deserve to have it. 

Gaara came up and sat next to her. "Now I know why I never drink Sake," he said, rubbing his temples. Keiko leaned her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around her. 

"I don't deserve you," she said quietly. "I never deserved either of you. It would really be best for everyone if I left this world, but I'm too weak to even do that." 

Gaara said nothing. 

"You've given me everything and I've never given you the love you deserve, but if you will let me come home after all I've done, I promise I will do my best to try and be the wife you deserve." 

"You've always been everything I wanted. You came to the village because it's what the council wanted, not because you were in love with me, but we fell in love anyway. I know that the situation with Kakashi was unusual, but you gave me your love. Whatever you were feeling inside, I didn't feel like you were dragging baggage into our marriage. When you were with me, you were only with me. I don't want to know about anything last night, but if you are willing to leave it in the past, I want you to come home." 

"I never tell you enough how much I love you Gaara," she choked he said as he held her tight. 


	28. The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning, explicit material warning.  
> I tried to go through the entire story today and catch errors and correct them.

 

Back in the Village Hidden in the Sand, a knock came on the door of the Kazekage's office. 

"Come in," he said, leaning over his desk as he scribbled on a page. He looked up and was surprised to see Keiko. "You actually used the door...and you knocked. Maybe you should be back in the hospital." 

"I figured I needed to be in your good graces." 

"For what?" he asked. "You know I'd give you anything you asked." 

Her eyes flashed mischievously. "You. Right now."

"Except that," he said flatly. "We have a lot of time to make up for...later." 

Keiko walked around the side of the desk and sat down on it next to him. She leaned over in peered into his eyes. "Oh no. I'm not chancing that you get called away for Kazekage duties again." 

Gaara tossed his papers in his chair as he stood up. "I swear you're going to get me fired one day," he said huskily. 

"Luckily you're the boss." 

Gaara wasn't usually one to get his ego stroked, but it was different when it came to her. He knew she was trying to goad him into doing what she wanted, and it was working. He grabbed her and hastily pushed her down onto the desk, pinning her there as he tried to restrain himself. The timepiece wobbled on the edge and fell over into the basket of apples. He'd been trying to fight primal instincts ever since he had tried to subjugate the one tailed beast. He always worked so hard to make sure he never hurt or scared Keiko. Now he felt like he was coming undone. 

“It's ok,” whispered Keiko seeing the hunger in his eyes reflecting her own. “Safe word is ‘I’m going to kick your ass.’” 

“That’s more than a word,” croaked Gaara. 

“I didn’t say it would be verbal.” 

Gaara leaned down and grazed her neck gently, first with his lips, then with his teeth. She groaned in pleasure, louder than he anticipated. Geez, usually she was pretty quiet. “Shh,” he told her, “You’re the one that wanted to do this here.” He wasn’t sure what got into her. She would seduce him sometimes and she was playful, but usually she wasn’t quite so…aggressive. Maybe it was because she’d spent a lot of time in her true form of late. He knew what it felt like when he transformed with the sand beast. 

He was glad that she started wearing a less formal Yukata. It was a lot easier to work with. He never did understand why she dressed so formally. He supposed it had something to do with habit from her rank among her people before she was outcast. He slid his hand up her thigh and moved it aside. He undid her Yukata and laid it open across the desk, exposing her to the air.  

He placed a hand gently at the base of her neck and kissed her fiercely. She wrapped her arms and legs around him and pulled him closer. He was still fully clothed but he could feel the moisture against his hardness as it ached to spring free. He kissed and nibbled his way across her body. She was on fire. He took a nipple into his mouth. Keiko had released his hardened member and was stroking it. He moaned against her skin. He didn’t want her to stop, but he was supposed to be the one taking control.  

He took her arms and pinned them above her head. She shivered with anticipation. He slid his full length inside her as he held her there. She yelped in surprise. Crap. He hoped he didn’t hurt her. He felt her recover from the shock as she relaxed and shifted her hips impatiently against him. He began thrusting inside her, faster than he normally would start with. He leaned his elbows on the desk, still holding onto her arms. He watched her breasts bounce with the movement and knew he wasn’t going to last. It had been too long since they last made love. He exploded without warning and she wiggled against his grip trying to free her arms. He knew she wasn’t there yet.  

He dropped to his knees pulling her arms down in front of her and pinning them against her stomach as he gripped her around the wrists with one hand. He hadn’t really tried this before with her, but he heard things about what women like among the shinobi when they were having their drink. He slid two fingers inside her and bent his head forward to kiss her between her legs. He flicked his tongue across the space above his fingers and she cried out. He continued experimenting with licking and sucking as he continued to stroke inside her. Her whimpers became weaker, he knew she must be close. She shuddered and he watched as she gushed into his hand. It was amazing to watch what he did to her. He couldn’t understand why he never tried it before. 

She laid there shivering for a full couple minutes it seemed before she went still. He cleaned up hastily as she recovered. He moved the papers back out of his chair and then wrapped her sloppily up in her yukata as he pulled her over to sit on his lap. He kissed her gently and held her there, stroking her hair as she leaned her head into the crook of his neck. 

Temari walked in and screwed up her face awkwardly. Gaara hadn’t ever removed his clothes so she couldn’t really be sure of what she saw, but she had a pretty good idea. “I’ll just come back later.” 

Shit he thought. Now they’re going to think he’s spends his time in his office pleasuring his wife. “No, it's ok Temari. I’ll walk with you.” He glanced back at Keiko apologetically and she blushed. 

“I don’t want to know,” started Temari before Gaara could say anything.  

“I was working and she came in wanting to spend time with me. It's been ages since she was taken…I was working,” he repeated grumpily as she laughed.  

“Oh I can see that,” she joked. “I’m not going to tell anyone. It's your business. Just be careful ok? I know you guys haven’t seen each other in a long time and with her in recovery, I’m sure it’s been difficult.” 

Gaara continued to walk beside her in silence haughtily 

“I’m just looking out for you Otouto-san. You’ve really commanded the respect of the village. She has too. But you guys are only human,” she grinned.  

He continued in silence. 

“Stop it. I can almost hear your brain whirring from here. You didn’t let the village down because you wanted to be with your wife when you were supposed to be working. I think you’ve more than earned it. No one is going to fault you for that. She's been kind of keyed up since she got back. I think that it’s just stress from the war.” 

“It's not that. I think she’s had to release a lot of the demon in her lately battling with the Akatsuki and Orochimaru. It's hard to reign that back in,” he said. 

“Hmm, I guess you’re right.” 

\--- 

The next afternoon, Gaara noticed the Palace of the Kazekage was pretty empty. He found Keiko cleaning a bathroom and his face twisted in a funny expression. 

"We have staff that do that you know," he said, "if you can find one of them...." 

"I gave them the day off. I wanted to do it myself so they could spend time with their families. I did a lot of it by magic. I picked up a couple good ones off world, but I've never actually done any of this stuff manually. I've lived a lot of my life outside or in places where people did it for you. I wanted to see what it was like," she grinned. 

"Ok...well that was nice of you," he said awkwardly. 

"Besides, I wanted everyone out so I could do something special for you," she grinned cheerily, "I'll see you at dinner." 

He shrugged and shuffled off back towards the direction of the wing where he had his office.  

Later that evening, he found the table already set with food. There were all different kinds. He recognized many Japanese dishes, but he also saw some western, British, and French dishes. He picked up a dish labeled "crème brulee" and sniffed it gingerly. 

"I made it all myself," said Keiko as she walked into the dining hall. "I went through the portal and snagged some recipe books from friends on other worlds." 

"Portal?" he asked. 

"Yes, there's one in the cave," she said. 

"You never mentioned it." 

"I never thought I'd use it again after I found you. It didn't really seem important," she shrugged. 

"What's that?" he asked distractedly, pointing to a dish near the center. 

"Gumbo," she said, "Some American stew-like dish." 

"What's American?" he asked. 

"Nevermind..." she grumbled. 

They enjoyed tasting all the different dishes. Gaara was hesitant to critique any because he didn't want to hurt her feelings, but as she went around registering her opinion on each one and laughing when she tried one she didn't like, he joined in. 

After they were full, she led him to the couch. She had candles suspended in the air with a spell she had learned. The candlelight flickered across her face as he stared at her, mesmerized. Her soft lips were inches from his, he wanted to kiss them, but she pulled away smiling. 

She walked over to the piano as he watched her curiously. "I've been working on something for you," she smiled lovingly. 

The beginning of the song sounded sad and melancholy, but beautiful. The middle section sang brightly. Happiness washed over Gaara as he listened. He didn't know why, but it almost felt like the song was telling him how he made her feel. He barely even noticed when it was done. 

She joined him back on the couch and he twisted his fingers into her hair. "Thank you," he said, "this was nice." They snuggled that way on the couch for a while until she fell asleep, lulled in happiness and by his warmth. He carried her to bed. It was nice to be back in his own bed, he thought before falling asleep himself. 

\--- 

The Kage Summit agreed to make an exception and grant Keiko permission to speak. They were all fascinated to meet the woman that two villages would lay down their lives for. She told them the importance of unity and while each village having a unique set of skills was important, the only way they could all be on an even playing field was to help and teach one another.  

The Kage decided to make a graduate academy that was owned by all the villages. They reasoned that the Chūnin exams were typically held anyway in the spirit of cooperation and testing skill between the villages, so this really was just a new extension. She was put in charge of helping cross train at the academy. Out of respect and consideration for her, they built the academy relatively close to the Village Hidden in the Sand so that she would be able to go home every night easily. They were not all in favor of this at first, but she reminded them that as all villages would have shinobi both teaching and learning there, they had nothing to fear.  

For the moment, with the villages united, the Akatsuki were not making any active moves to come after Keiko or Naruto. They reasoned that they would eventually, but for the moment, they were on the run.

Gaara knew that he'd have to contend with Kakashi's presence on occasion such as at the Summit, but Keiko kept true to her word toward trying to let go and heal. They left some concerns unsaid regarding the state of affairs. Kabuto was still out there with access to her DNA. They ransacked Orochimaru’s facility and found he had gone. Keiko being almost immortal also would not share age the same as Gaara. It didn’t seem to bother her, so he tried to not let it bother him. They still had a lot of work to do to take down the remaining Akatsuki members, but as far as Gaara was concerned, all was right with the world.  


End file.
